Sad news: India's Chief of Defense Staff Bipin Rawat & wife dead

Bipin Rawat, India's Chief of Defense Staff dies in helicopter crash.

India's top military commander has been killed in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others died after the Mi-17V5 helicopter came down in hills near Coonoor city on Wednesday morning.

One survivor is being treated for his injuries in hospital.

Gen Rawat, 63, was appointed India's first-ever Chief of Defence Staff in January 2019.

This brought together the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and Gen Rawat had been in charge of a range of operations including Kashmir.

The Indian Air Force said it had ordered an investigation into the accident, which happened in foggy weather.

The helicopter had just taken off from the army base in Sulur, and was headed for Wellington town, less than 100km (62 miles) away, where Gen Rawat was set to visit the Defence Services Staff College.

The sole survivor of the crash is a captain working at the college.

The names of the departed souls:

Gen Bipin Rawat

Mrs Madhulika Rawat

Brig LS Lidder

Lt Col H Singh

Wg Cdr PS Chauhan

Sqn Ldr K Singh

JWO Das

JWO Pradeep A

Hav Satpal

Nk Gursewak Singh

Nk Jitender

L/Nk Vivek

L/Nk S Teja

General Ravat, the 1st Chief of Defence Forces along with his wife & other Defence personals will always be remembered.

May their souls RIP 🙏

May their souls rest in peace 🙏

Om Shanti🙏

Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane has become the senior-most military officer in the country after Rawat’s demise. Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari and navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar are both around two years junior to him.

The shocking demise of India’s first chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash on Wednesday will have direct implications for the country’s top military hierarchy and the government will have to move swiftly to announce a succession plan at a time India is locked in a border standoff with China, top officials said.

“The situation is unprecedented as General Rawat was the country’s first CDS. The government will have to select a top officer and appoint him as CDS. The succession line-up in the three services is broadly known but not so in the case of CDS as it’s a new appointment,” said one of the officials cited above.

Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane has become the senior-most military officer in the country after Rawat’s demise. Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari and navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar are both around two years junior to him.

There is a strong possibility of Naravane being named as the next CDS if the government follows the seniority principle, said a second official. “If Naravane is named the next CDS, the post of army chief will fall vacant. The government will have to appoint a new army chief. Rawat’s death will have a cascading effect on the succession line-up of the armed forces,” he added.

Sorry to hear that

Om Shanti

Om Shanti 🙏

Rawat was born in Pauri, Uttarakhand, on March 16, 1958. His family had been serving in the Indian Army for multiple generations. His father Laxman Singh Rawat was from Sainj village of the Pauri Garhwal district and rose to the rank of Lt General.

Rawat attended Cambrian Hall School in Dehradun and the St. Edward's School, Shimla.

He was a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington and the Higher Command Course at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Rawat was commissioned into the 5th battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles on December 16, 1978,

As a Colonel, he commanded the 5th battalion of 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 Congo under UN mission.

After promotion to Major General, Rawat took over as the General Officer Commanding 19th Infantry Division at Uri.

As a Lt General, he commanded III Corps headquartered in Dimapur before taking over the Southern Army in Pune.

He was appointed as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Southern Command on 1 January 2016 and months later became the Vice Chief of Army Staff.

In December 2016, he was appointed as the 27th Chief of the Army Staff, superseding two senior Lt Generals, Praveen Bakshi and P M Hariz.

He is survived by two daughters.

This is so unfortunate and shocking😭😭

May their souls rest in peace 🙏🙏

https://twitter.com/CNBCTV18News/status/1468555983328714755

https://twitter.com/WIONews/status/1468617389726076928

https://twitter.com/republic/status/1468605060196159489