Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid his last respects to Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 others killed in IAF chopper crash.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, NSA Ajit Doval, Army Chief MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, Air Chief Marshal AVR Chaudhari, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar were among those who paid homage to the deceased at a sombre ceremony.

Their mortal remains were brought to the national capital on Thursday. The bodies were brought to Delhi in an Indian Air Force C-130J aircraft that landed at the Palam air base at around 7:35 pm.

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Officials said bodies of only Gen Rawat, Madhulika Rawat and Brig LS Lidder could be identified so far. They said the mortal remains of only those identified will be released to the next of kin of those killed in the tragic helicopter crash on Wednesday.

The bodies of Gen Rawat and his wife will be kept at their 3 Kamaraj Marg residence for the general public to pay their final respects from 11 am to 12:30 pm Friday. The slot between 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm will be kept for military personnel to pay their respects to the outstanding commander and his wife.

The final journey of Gen Rawat from his residence to the Brar Square crematorium is scheduled to start around 2 pm. The funeral is scheduled for 4 pm. Brigadier Lidder's funeral would be held at 9 am.

Besides Gen Rawat, his wife and Brig Lidder, 10 armed forces personnel were killed in the Mi-17V5 helicopter crash which is one of the biggest air accidents in India in decades involving senior military officers. The other personnel killed in the accident are Lt Col Harjinder Singh, Wing Commander PS Chauhan, Squadron Leader K Singh, JWO Das, JWO Pradeep A, Havildar Satpal, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar and Lance Naik Sai Teja.

(With inputs from PTI)

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(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)

First Published:Dec 9, 2021 9:14 PM IST