Gen. Bipin Rawat, the deceased Indian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
By James Kerry with agency reports
More than three years after the tragedy, a report tabled in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) said the plane crash which killed Gen. Bipin Rawat, the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian military, occurred due to human error.
Periscope International reports that Rawat had died in 2021 in the helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, alongside twelve other people, including his wife, Madhulika.
The report said that during the 13th defence plan period (from 2017 to 2022), a total of 34 accidents (involving military aircraft) occurred, which included the 2021 Mi-17 V5 helicopter that was carrying CDS Rawat.
CDS Rawat, his wife, and 11 others died on December 8, 2021, after the Mi-17 V5 they were travelling in crashed in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor.
Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Group Captain Varun Singh, who was the sole survivor of the crash, died a week later during treatment.
Before becoming the CDS, the late Gen. Rawat was the 27th chief of the Indian Army.
He was 63 at the time of his death.
