The funeral of General Bipin Rawat, India’s
first Chief of Defence Staff and the most senior military officer of the
country, will be held on Friday afternoon. General Rawat lost his life on
Wednesday in a tragic crash of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17 V-5 helicopter.
Also Read: Mortal remains of Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife, some others brought to Delhi
People will be allowed to pay their
respects to the commander, who was killed in the air crash along with his wife
Madhulika and 11 other army personnel in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor.
According to the PTI, the bodies of General
Rawat and his wife Madhulika will be kept at their Kamaraj Marg residence from
11 AM to 12:30 PM for the general public to pay their final respects.
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Military personnel will pay their respects
to the brave soldier and his wife between 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM. The final
journey of General Rawat from his residence to the Brar Square crematorium is
scheduled to begin around 2 PM.
The late CDS Rawat’s funeral is scheduled
for 4 PM, PTI reported. Meanwhile, the funeral of Brigadier LS Lidder, whose
body was also identified as one of the other casualties of the air accident,
would be held at 9 AM.
Army
works on identifying the remaining 10 bodies
Although the IAF has confirmed the deaths
of 13 people in the helicopter crash on Wednesday afternoon, only three bodies
have been identified so far—those of Gen Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and
Brigadier Lidder. Army officials have said the bodies of those identified will
be released to the families for last rites.
Meanwhile, the other bodies are being kept
in the mortuary at the Army Base Hospital till they are identified.
Also Read: Candle light tributes paid to Gen Bipin Rawat in Kashmir
All the bodies were flown from Sulur near
Coimbatore to the Palam airbase Thursday evening, where family members watched
as caskets were brought out of an IAF aircraft and lined inside a hangar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence
minister Rajnath Singh, and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval were
among the ones who paid their tributes on Thursday to the armed forces
personnel who died in the air accident.
Also Read: Chopper crash: Opposition leaders call off protest against suspension of 12 MPs
The country’s top military officers,
including Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari
Kumar, Air Chief Marshal AVR Chaudhari, and defence secretary Ajay Kumar, also
paid their final homages to the deceased at a sombre ceremony.
