CDS General Bipin Rawat’s last rites to be performed today, top military officials to attend

The last rites of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Dr Madhulika Rawat will be conducted today, December 10, in Delhi with full military honours. Their bodies were flown in from Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening.

CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife, and 11 others passed away in a tragic IAF helicopter crash on December 8. The Mi 17 V5 chopper carrying 14 passengers, including the army general, crashed near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, just a few kilometers away from its final destination.

An aircraft carrying the mortal remains of General Rawat took off for Delhi from the Sulur airbase in Tamil Nadu. The bodies of all the other army personnel who died in the crash were flown to their native cities for their last rites.

The mortal remains of CDS General Bipin Rawat and others who lost their lives in the tragic accident arrived at the Palam airbase in Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the three army chiefs paid tributes to the fallen heroes.

As per media reports, the bodies of CDS General Bipin Rawat and wife Madhulika Rawat will be taken to their official residence in Delhi at 11 am today, and the funeral will most likely take place at 4 pm today in the Dhaula Kuan area of the national capital.

The cremation of General Rawat and his wife, which is scheduled for Friday evening, will be attended by top military officials from Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. The Royal Bhutan Army will be represented by Brig. Dorji Rinchen, Deputy Chief Operations Officer, Royal Bhutan Army.

He is the second senior-most officer of the Royal Bhutan Army after the Chief Operations Officer. Nepali army will be represented by Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt General Bal Krishna Karki who will be representing the Chief of Army Staff Gen Prabhu Ram Sharma.