General Bipin Rawat, the Chief of Defence Staff, and his wife, Madhulika Rawat, will be laid to rest on friday in Delhi Cantonment.
By Thursday evening, their mortal remains are likely to arrive in the National Capital aboard a military plane. Today, at the Madras Regimental Centre in Wellington, a wreath-laying ceremony will take place. General MM Naravane, Chief of Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhury, and Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff, will arrive in Wellington this morning for the wreath-laying ceremony.
The last rituals will be performed in Delhi Cantonment on Friday, according to authorities. The bodies will be kept at their home from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for people to pay their respects. The funeral procession will begin at Kamraj Marg and terminate at Brar Square with the cremation.
The tragic chopper crash
CDS Gen Bipin Rawat was on his way to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington for a seminar. The chopper crashed just minutes before it arrived in Wellington.
The Cabinet Committee on Security convened on Wednesday in the aftermath of the chopper disaster. National security adviser Ajit Doval, principal secretary to Prime Minister PK Misra, and cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba briefed the CCS members on the tragic occurrence.
Between December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2019, Gen Rawat, the country’s first CDS, served as the Chief of Army Staff.
Condolences for the departed
The defense minister, Rajnath Singh, will speak to both Houses of Parliament about the military chopper crash near Coonoor, which killed 13 people, including General Bipin Rawat, the chief of the defense staff.
Sonia Gandhi, on the other hand, has asked her supporters not to celebrate her birthday on Thursday.
The US, Russia, China, and Pakistan have all expressed their sorrow over Gen Rawat’s death.
The Uttarakhand government has established a three-day state of mourning in honor of Bipin Rawat’s untimely death, which will begin on December 9.
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