General Bipin Singh Rawat with his wife Madhulika Rawat Photograph:( PTI )
The mortal remains of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat and his wife, Madhulika Rawat are expected to arrive in Delhi on a military plane by Thursday evening.
According to agency inputs, the last rites will be performed on Friday in Delhi Cantonment. The bodies would be kept in their house from 11am to 2pm for people to pay their last respect and the funeral procession will start from Kamraj Marg to Brar Square crematorium.
General Rawat, who along with his wife, and 11 others lost their lives in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on Wednesday, is survived by his two daughters. His younger sister and brother would also be present for the cremation.
General Rawat and the others were on board an Indian Air Force Mi-17V5 helicopter, which took off from the Sulur IAF base near Coimbatore on Wednesday. He was on his way to Defence Services Staff College in Wellington to attend an event, when the accident occurred. The death of General Rawat was confirmed by the IAF.
"With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident," the IAF said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the crash is reportedly being rushed to Bengaluru in a critical condition after undergoing treatment at a nearby military hospital.
The Indian Air Force has ordered an inquiry to ascertain the cause of accident.
Tributes for Gen Rawat have begun pouring in, with President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah , and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar leading the way. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and the NCP's Sharad Pawar also tweeted.