Breaking: CDS Bipin Rawat dies in Coonoor helicopter crash

• Image Credit: Internet

• Dec 8, 2021 | moderator

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force confirmed via tweet the death of Chief of the Defence Staff Bipin Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others after the IAF helicopter they were flying in, crashed today morning in Tamil Nadu.

A helicopter carrying Chief of the Defence Staff, Bipin Rawat and his family members crashed in Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, quoted official reports. 

Reports said that the Mi-series chopper was also carrying defence officials that crashed between Coimbatore and Sulur in Tamil Nadu.

The country has gone into shock after the news of Bipin Rawat’s chopper air crash flashed across news platforms. The defence staff has expressed shock and grief on the unfortunate incident.

Retiring Army chief, General Bipin Rawat, was on December 30 appointed the first tri-service chief with effect from December 31, 2019.

Also read: Breaking: Chopper carrying CDS Bipin Rawat, his family members crashes, two bodies retrieved

During his four decades in service, Rawat has served as a Brigade Commander, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-C) Southern Command, General Staff Officer Grade 2 at the Military Operations Directorate, Colonel Military Secretary and Deputy Military Secretary in the Military Secretary’s Branch and Senior Instructor in the junior Command Wing. He has also been part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force and has commanded a multinational brigade  in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rawat became the Vice-Chief of Army Staff before becoming the fourth officer from the Gorkha Brigade to become the COAS.

He was instrumental in reducing the militancy in the Northeast, with one of the highlights of his career being the 2015 cross-border operation into Myanmar in which the Indian Army successfully responded to an ambush by NSCN-K militants. The mission was conducted from the operation command of Dimapur-based III Corps under Rawat's supervision. He was also part of the planning for the 2016 surgical strikes, in which the Indian Army went across the Line of Control into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Rawat, it was reported, was monitoring the developments from South Block in New Delhi.

During his service, General Rawat has been decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Yudh Seva Medal, and Sena Medal.

Bipin Rawat had a vast operational experience, having served across a wide spectrum of combat and conflict situations. He has commanded an Infantry Battalion along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Sector and a Rashtriya Rifles Sector in the Kashmir Valley. Soon thereafter, he went on to Command a Multinational Brigade in a Chapter VII Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He was assigned to Command an Infantry Division along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and was Corps Commander in the North-East. As an Army Commander, he was responsible to oversee operations in the Desert sector, along the Western front.

Also read: CDS Bipin Rawat chopper crash: Who were on-board the ill-fated chopper?

CDS Rawat has held several important instructional and staff appointments. These include instructional tenures at the Indian Military Academy (Dehradun) and at the Junior Command Wing as the Senior Instructor. He was the General Staff Officer at Military Operations Directorate, the Colonel and later Deputy Military Secretary in the Military Secretary's Branch, the Major General General Staff of the Eastern Theatre and was also the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. The General was the Chief of the Army Staff from 31 Dec 2016 to 31 Dec 2019.

A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (Wellington) and the Command and General Staff Course, Fort Leavenworth (USA). He has attended the Higher Command Course at Mhow and is a graduate of the National Defence College, New Delhi. Academically inclined, the General has authored several articles on National Security and Military Leadership which have been published in various Journals and Publications. He also holds two diplomas in Management and in Computer Studies. The General was awarded the 'Doctorate of Philosophy' (Ph.D) for his research on 'Military Media Strategic Studies' by the Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut.

Leaders have expressed shock and have demanded inquiry into what went wrong. Meanwhile three persons have been reported injured and have been shifted to the hospital while 11 confirmed dead including CDS Bipin Rawat.