The funeral of General Bipin Rawat, India’s
first Chief of Defence Staff and the most senior military officer of the
country, and his wife Madhulika Rawat will be held on Friday afternoon. General
Rawat lost his life on Wednesday in a tragic crash of the Indian Air Force
(IAF) Mi17-V5 helicopter.

The army general will be accorded 17-gun
salute as per laid down protocols.

Also Read: CDS Bipin Rawat’s last rites today, India to pay respect to commander

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Uttarakhand
counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami were among the notable people who paid respects
to Rawats at their 3, Kamraj Marg residence on Friday.

The public paid tribute to the army general
and his wife between 10 am and 1.30 am, following which the bodies were taken
to the Brar crematorium.

Also Read: Mortal remains of Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife, some others brought to Delhi

Elaborate arrangements have been made for
the funeral procession of General Rawat, the country’s first Chief of Defence
Staff and a former Army Chief. A total of 800 service personnel will be in
attendance for the military funeral of the CDS.

Senior army commanders from Sri Lanka,
Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh arrived in New Delhi to attend General Rawat’s
funeral.

Also Read: Explained: Who succeeds General Bipin Rawat? The process of appointing CDS

General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and
11 others were killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu Wednesday. The bodies
of General Rawat, his wife and the defence personnel killed in the crash were
flown in from Sulur in Tamil Nadu to Delhi’s Palam airport on Wednesday night.

Also Read: Candle light tributes paid to Gen Bipin Rawat in Kashmir

On their arrival, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and
top officials of the defence services paid them tributes.