Steadfast, a non-nonsense person and extremely diligent person, thats how Gen Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff was described by those who knew him.
In an extremely tragic and unexpected accident, India on 8 December mourned the loss of its highest ranking military official, his wife Mrs Madhulika Rawat, and 11 others who were killed in a helicopter crash in Tami Nadu’s Coonoor.
Along with Gen Rawat and his wife, Brigadier LS Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Wing Commander PS Chauhan, Squadron Leader K Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Das, JWO Pradeep A, Havildar Satpal, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender, Lance Naik Vivek and Lance Naik S Teja were the other defence personnel killed in the crash.
The lone survivor of the crash was Group Captain Varun Singh, who was moved to the Command Hospital in Bengaluru for further treatment today on 9 December.