Spoke to Them Only Last Evening, Says CDS Rawat’s Brother-in-law as Family is Asked to Reach Delhi

The family members and close relatives of Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat were asked to reach New Delhi after an Air Force helicopter carrying 14 persons, including Gen Rawat and his wife, crashed in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday afternoon. There is no information yet about the condition of the CDS.

Yash Vardhan Singh, Madhulika Rawat’s brother, told News18 that he had spoken to his sister on Tuesday evening. “I had spoken to her last evening and she had mentioned that she and my brother-in-law are going to attend a special programme but did not divulge the details. Their visits are generally kept secrets due to security reasons and it is only when they return that we get to know the details. So, I did not know where the programme was,” he said.

Singh, who is three years younger to his sister, said all members of the Rawat family have been asked to come to Delhi and they fear that an unfortunate development has taken place. “The person who we used to be directly in touch with has passed away in the same accident,” he said.

Thirteen of the 14 personnel have been confirmed dead after the crash took place in the Nilgiris, shortly after the Mi-series chopper took off from the army base in Sulur.

Confirming the incident, the Indian Air Force tweeted: “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.”

Sources said the Union Cabinet is currently on and Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the incident.

Army Chief General MM Naravane briefed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over the incident of the crash of the military chopper. The defence Minister visited CDS Bipin Rawat’s residence to brief the family of the current situation.

Visuals from the site of the Indian Air Force helicopter crash showed massive flames and locals helping with the immediate rescue operations. Several teams are at the site carrying out search and rescue operations.

Local military officers have reached the location, ANI reported.

Official sources said all the injured people on board the Mi-17V5 helicopter have been evacuated from the spot of the accident. The Chief of Defence Staff was on his way to the Defence Staff College in Wellington.

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