"Daughter is for life....." --- now we know they are even after deaths.
--- i m a son -- have been a bad son !!
In a wedding party of a former Sports Editor of PTI ---- I remarked - "every grown up man wants to cry in joy one day Sir...daughter's marriage...he became emotional.
We were bachelors --- understood little of what I said.....Today we know, 'Beti kya hoti haen....Beti hi beta hae'
Salute CDS .... also on this front. You leave behind two daughters - Kritika and Tarini
New Delhi:
(Credited for bringing defence reforms, Gen Rawat leaves a rich legacy. "India will never forget his exceptional service", says PM Modi)
India lost its first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, in a ghastly chopper crash
in Tami Nadu.
"I am deeply anguished by the helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu in which we have lost Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and other personnel of the Armed Forces," tweeted a pensive Prime Minister who had actually virtually handpicked the brilliant military officer to make him first the army chief and then the CDS from January 2020.
"They (deceased men) served India with utmost diligence. My thoughts are with the bereaved families,"
the Prime Minister wrote.
"Gen Bipin Rawat was an outstanding soldier. A true patriot, he greatly contributed to modernising our
armed forces and security apparatus. His insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional.," he said.
The Prime Minister also said - "His passing away has saddened me deeply. Om Shanti".
In another missive, Mr Modi said, "India will never forget his exceptional service".
"As India’s first CDS, Gen Rawat worked on diverse aspects relating to our armed forces including
defence reforms. He brought with him a rich experience of serving in the Army".
Altogether there were 14 personnel in the ill-fated military chopper IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter.
Earlier in the day as the news of the crash went viral on social media and television channels,
the Indian Air Force said in a tweet - "An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident".
President Ram Nath Kovind in his missive wrote:
"I am shocked and anguished over the untimely demise of Gen. Bipin Rawat and his wife,
Madhulika ji."
"The nation has lost one of its bravest sons. His four decades of selfless service to the motherland was marked by exceptional gallantry and heroism. My condolences to his family," he wrote.
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh personally monitored the situation following crash of the IAF chopper.
He also briefed PM Modi about the crash. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the residence of CDS Bipin Rawat
in Delhi.
A brilliant military officer, India's first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat also had the distinction of commanding a multinational Brigade in a Chapter VII mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
During the tough mission he was twice awarded the Force Commander’s Commendation.
He was the third officer from the Gorkha Brigade to become the Chief of the Army Staff, after Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and General Dalbir Singh Suhag.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is monitoring the situation following crash of IAF chopper carrying CDS Bipin Rawat and others.
A meeting of senior Defence Ministry officials is underway.
Rajnath also briefed PM Modi about the crash:
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reaches the residence of CDS Bipin Rawat, Def Minister likely to address Parliament on Thursday, Dec 9
New Delhi
A major military chopper crashed in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
The Indian Air Force said - an IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.
"An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," a tweet from the Air Force said.
Further details awaited.
Bipin Laxman Singh Rawat, PVSM (born 16 March 1958)[3] is a four star general of the Indian Army.
He is the first and current Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of India. On 30 December 2019, he was appointed as the first CDS of India and assumed office from 1 January 2020.
Prior to taking over as the CDS, he served as 57th and last Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee as well as 26th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. Rawat was commissioned into the 5th battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles on 16 December 1978, the same unit as his father.
He has much experience in high-altitude warfare and spent ten years conducting counter-insurgency operations.
He commanded a company in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir as a Major. As a Colonel, he commanded his battalion, the 5th battalion 11 Gorkha Rifles, in the Eastern sector along the Line of Actual Control at Kibithu. Promoted to the rank of Brigadier, he commanded 5 Sector of Rashtriya Rifles in Sopore.
He then commanded a multinational Brigade in a Chapter VII mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) where he was twice awarded the Force Commander’s Commendation.
After promotion to Major General, Rawat took over as the General Officer Commanding 19th Infantry Division (Uri).
As a Lieutenant General, he commanded III Corps, headquartered in Dimapur before taking over the Southern Army in Pune.
VIP chopper risk factors ::
 |
| Blogger in a Jharkhand police chopper: File |
In 2011, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has expressed concern over instances of take off, landing of helicopters in low visibility, bad weather and even during nights. This was for civilian VIP choppers.
In its report presented to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, the 30-member panel under Marxists' leader Sitaram Yechury as its chairman, said that technicians, including pilots, were often put "under pressure" to ignore minor deficiencies and undertake helicopter sorties.
“It happens mainly in the case of chartered helicopters and those under the State governments flying VIPs. Such violations of rules have led to fatal accidents losing several precious lives,” the report said.
In Pakistan, military Gen Zia died in a chopper crash. AUG 17, 1988, 3.51pm: Pak-1, with Gen Ziaul Haq, president and army chief of Pakistan on board, slams into the ground a few miles out of Bahawalpur, near the Sutlej river.
Besides the pilots, Wing Commander Mashhood Hassan and Flight Lieutenant Sajid, there are 29 people on the massive Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
It was perhaps a "watershed moment" in Pakistan’s history - as described in 'Dawn' news paper that brought to an end the country’s third and longest military dictatorship.
"Despite that, it remains a mystery even after the passage of three decades" - said the newspaper report in March 2019.
 |
| Pak crash: 1988 |
Dawn's Aug 23 edition reported that foreign and local experts could not understand how a mechanical fault could occur given that 14 technicians had checked the plane between the time it landed at and departed from Bahawalpur. Parts of the debris were also flown to the US for tests.
Crates of mangoes — immortalised as the ultimate Trojan horse in Mohammed Hanif’s novel based on Gen Zia’s death
More on Bipin Rawat:
On 17 December 2016, the Government of India appointed him as the 27th Chief of the Army Staff, superseding two more senior Lieutenant Generals, Praveen Bakshi and P. M. Hariz.
He took office of Chief of Army Staff as the 27th COAS on 31 December 2016, after retirement of General Dalbir Singh Suhag.
He is the third officer from the Gorkha Brigade to become the Chief of the Army Staff, after Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and General Dalbir Singh Suhag.
ZZZ
Punjab governor Surendra Nath and nine members of his family were killed when the government’s Super—King aircraft crashed into high mountains in bad weather on July 9, 1994 in Himachal Pradesh.
Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu also died in a helicopter crash.
VIP aerial crashes involving Indian politicians -- Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Sanjay Gandhi, Madhavrao Scindia, G.M.C. Balayogi, N.V.N. Somu, S. Mohan Kumaramangalam, O.P. Jindal, Surendra Singh, Dera Natung and C. Sangma.
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