17-Gun Salute For Gen Bipin Rawat, 800 Service Personnel At Funeral Today

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the funeral procession of General Rawat, the country’s first Chief of Defence Staff and a former Army Chief.

New Delhi: The funeral of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat, who were among 13 people killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu Wednesday, will be held at Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment today.

Key faces in the government and politicians cutting across party lines paid tributes to General Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat at their 3, Kamraj Marg residence today.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami were among those who reached the Rawats’ home to pay respects.

The Army has said the public can pay their tributes today, following which the bodies will be taken to the Brar crematorium.

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the funeral procession of General Rawat, the country’s first Chief of Defence Staff and a former Army Chief.

A total of 800 service personnel will be in attendance for the military funeral of the CDS.

The Chief of Defence Staff will be accorded a 17 gun salute as per laid down protocols.

General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others were killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu Wednesday.

The bodies of General Rawat, his wife and the defence personnel killed in the crash were flown in from Sulur in Tamil Nadu last night.

On their arrival at Palam air base in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and top officials of the defence services paid them tributes.

So far, the bodies of General Rawat, his wife, Brigadier Lidder and Lance Naik Vivek Kumar have been identified. The Army has said the process to identify the other bodies is on.