New Delhi: Last rites of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) and highly decorated General Bipin Rawat was performed on Friday with full military honours. Tributes were paid to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat by political leaders and military officials. A 17-gun salute was accorded as per military tradition.
Top political leaders made a beeline to pay tributes to India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, as his mortal remains were kept at the CDS’ residence at Kamraj Marg in Delhi.
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were among those who paid tributes to General Rawat today. Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Anurag Thakur, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Harish Singh Rawat, BJP chief JP Nadda, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad and DMK leaders A Raja and Kanimozhi, were among leaders who paid tributes.
The mortal remains were kept at the CDS’ residence on Friday, from where it was taken to Brar Square Cremation Ground for the last rites in a gun carriage of 2233 Field Regiment. 99 personnel from the Army, Navy and Air force and 33 members of the tri-services band escorted the gun carriage. Over 800 service personnel were in attendance for the military funeral of the CDS.
A 17 gun salute was accorded as per protocol. Post the playing of ‘Last Post and Rouse’ by tri services buglers, the funeral pyres was lit by their daughters Kritika and Tarini.
The highly-decorated India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other military personnel were on Wednesday killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, engulfing the entire nation in sorrow.
The pilot of the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was the lone survivor in the crash that took place in Coonoor valley at around noon when Gen Rawat was on his way to Wellington to deliver a lecture. He remains critical, has been moved to Command Hospital, Bangalore.
