New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The funeral of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat - who lost their lives in a chopper crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday - will be held shortly at Brar Square Crematorium in New Delhi. Earlier in the day, the funeral of Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder, who was travelling along with General Rawat, was conducted at the Brar Square Crematorium.
Here are the Latest Updates from the big story:
- Delhi: CDS General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat were laid to rest on the same pyre for cremation. The two lost their lives in Tamil Nadu Chopper Crash. Their daughters Kritika and Tarini performed their last rites
- Late General Bipin Rawat was one of the bravest soldiers in the country. His sudden demise is a huge loss for the entire country. We have paid tribute to him. He will forever be in our memories: Arvind Kejriwal, CM, Delhi
- Delhi: CDS General Bipin Rawat laid to final rest with full military honours. His last rites were performed along with his wife Madhulika Rawat, who too lost her life in Tamil Nadu Chopper Crash. Their daughters Kritika and Tarini performed their last rites.
- Daughters of CDS General Bipin Rawat and Madhulika Rawat - Kritika and Tarini - pay tribute to their parents. Other members of the family also join them in paying last respects.
- Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pay tribute to CDS General Bipin Rawat
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh pays tribute to CDS Bipin Rawat
- DRDO chief Dr G Satheesh Reddy pays tribute to CDS General Bipin Rawat
- Defence Attaches of different nations pay tribute to General Rawat.
- The mortal remains of General Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat brought to Brar Square crematorium.
- I wanted to pay tribute and to come in person for that ceremony as we remember him as a great military leader, emphatic, warm, determined and great friend to move forward cooperation with my country. He'll be really fondly remembered, French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain.
- It's incredibly sad. He was a pioneer as he started the joint defence approach which we follow in the UK. He led that approach in India. It's very sad for India to lose a great leader, a soldier and a thoroughly nice man, says British High Commissioner Alex Ellis.
- A real tragedy. Our President today sent CDS and Army Command of Sri Lanka as his envoy for the ceremony. We're heartbroken. Many senior personnel in our military have known him well. He was Sri Lanka's friend, says Sri Lanka's High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda.
- Funeral procession of General Rawat begins from his residence to Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment
- General Rawat will be accorded a 17-gun salute and 800 service personnel will attend his funeral.
- Military commanders of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh will also attend the last rites CDS General Bipin Rawat.
- The three service chiefs - Army Chief General MM Naravane, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar - pay tribute to CDS General Rawat.
- External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar pays tribute to General Rawat.
- BJP president JP Nadda pays tribute to General Rawat.
- Congress' senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge and former Defence Minister AK Antony pay tribute to General Rawat.
- Daughters of General Rawat and Madhulika Rawat - Kritika and Tarini - pay their last respects to their parents.
- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pays tributes to General Rawat.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah pays tribute to General Rawat.
- Earlier on Thursday, General Rawat and the 12 others who lost their lives on Wednesday were brought in Delhi on a C130-J Super Hercules aircraft. So far, only the bodies of General Rawat, his wife Madhulika and Brigadier Lidder have been identified.
- All other bodies will be kept at the mortuary at the Army Base Hospital till they are identified.
- On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval paid respects to General Rawat and the 12 others at Delhi's Palam Air Force base.
- The three service chiefs - Army Chief General MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari - also paid tributes to General Rawat the Palam Air base.
- After paying tributes to General Rawat, PM Modi said that the country "will never forget their rich contribution". "Paid my last respects to Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and other personnel of the Armed Forces," PM Modi tweeted.
- Meanwhile, Group Captain Varun Singh - the lone survivor of the crash - is currently undergoing treatment in Bengaluru.
- The government has formed a tri-services inquiry team led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh that will investigate the crash. The black box of the chopper has also been recovered and the data will be examined by the tri-services inquiry team to find the causes of the crash.