Remembering 11 Army Personnel Who Were Killed With CDS Bipin Rawat And Wife Madhulika

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The Logical Indian Crew

Remembering 11 Army Personnel Who Were Killed With CDS Bipin Rawat And Wife Madhulika

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife, and 11 other personnel of the Armed Forces lost their lives after a military helicopter crashed in Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8.

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The tragic incident of the Mi-17V5 chopper crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonor District on Wednesday 8 saw a crew of four members carrying the Chief of Defence Staff and others implode right after the helicopter took off from the air force base in Sulur in Wellington in the Nilgiris. The accident led to the premature demise of some Indian defence service personnel.

The top names in the list consist of the CDS General Bipin Rawat and his wife, Madhulika Rawat.

A Sad Day For India

Here is a look at the lives who fell and one lone survivor of the incident. Brigadier LS Lidder, Lt Colonel Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Vivek Kumar and B Sai Teja, and Havildar Satpal Rai, Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan who also met their end in the fatal crash. Indian Air Force's Group Captain Varun Singh is undergoing treatment at the Military Hospital in Wellington.

Brigadier LS Lidder: Defence Assistant to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) killed in helicopter crash hailed Panchkula is survived by his wife Geetika, a school teacher and 16-year-old daughter. Decorated with the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal, Brigadier Lidder was commissioned into the Second Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in December 1990, passing out from the Indian Military Academy. As reported by Tribune, he also served at the counter-terrorist environment of Jammu and Kashmir along the line of actual control.

Lt. Col Harjinder Singh: Lt. Col. Singh belonged to 11 Gorkha rifles, the same regiment as Rawat. He had served in various operations with his battalion, including deployment on the Siachen Glacier and tenure in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission. He originally belonged to Lucknow but later settled in New Delhi.

Naik Gursewak Singh: Naik Gursewak Singh, 35, served with General Rawat for the past three years. Singh hailed from Dode Sodhian Village in Khalra in Tarn Taran District. His wife, two daughters and a son of age 10, 7 and 4 years, respectively. He said further that Gursewak had joined the Indian Army in 2000 and was posted in Udhampur before being attached with Gen Rawat three years ago. Most of his career years in the Army were spent in the frontier areas of Jammu and Kashmir, where there had been a threat to life away due to insurgency.

Naik Jitendra Kumar: Naik Jitendra Kumar from 3 Para SF belonged to Dhamanda village of Ichhawar tehsil of Sehore district. Jitendra, posted in the rank of Nayak in the ArmyArmy, was the PSO of Vipin Rawat. His wife and one-year-old son survive Kumar. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has condoled the death of Jitendra Kumar.

Lance Naik Vivek Kumar: Lance Naik Vivek Kumar hailed from Jaisinhpur of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh. Kumar was a PSO of Gen. Bipin Rawat

Lance Naik B Sai Teja: Lance Naik B Sai Teja, who served as the Personal Security Officer or (PSO) of General Rawat, bagged the position just seven months ago. Hailing from the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, the 27-year-old joined the Indian Army in 2012.

Havildar Satpal Singh: Havildar Satpal Rai of Takdah, Darjeeling, was the Personal Security Officer of CDS General Bipin Rawat.

Directing Staff at the Defence Services Staff College, Varun Singh, is in critical condition and currently undergoing treatment at the military hospital in Wellington, as per the Indian Air Force.

Wing Commander Who Flew The Chopper

Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan: Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan flew the helicopter that crashed in Tamil Nadu with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and 12 other people on board. Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, 42, was posted at the Indian Air Force Station in Coimbatore but was born and raised in Agra. he joined the Indian Air Force in 2000. He became a commissioned officer on 22 June 2002 and was promoted to Wing Commander in 2015.

Also Read: IAF Chopper Crash: Late Wing Commander PS Chauhan's Last Conversation With His Family Before Implode

Contributors Suggest Correction
Writer : Shweta Singh
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Editor : Snehadri Sarkar
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Creatives : Snehadri Sarkar

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