The sudden demise of CDS General Bipin Rawat has shocked the whole nation. Members of the Bollywood fraternity also took to their social media to express grief over the passing away of India's first Chief of Defence Staff, who died today after a military chopper crashed in Tamil Nadu which killed 13 on board.
Kangana Ranaut posted a picture of the late soldier and wrote, "Most horrible news of the year the demise of Sh. #BipinRawat and his wife in a tragic helicopter crash. The nation will always be grateful to Gen. Rawat for his service to the nation. Om Shanti.. Jai Hind.."
Anupam Kher tweeted a series of pictures with General Rawat and wrote, "cds #genbipinrawat, unki dharmapatni evam 11 aur faujee officers ke nidhan ka sunkar atyant dukh hua.#generalrawat se milne ka saubhaagye kayi baar mila. Unke vyaktitv mein gazab ka dussaahas aur desh ke prati athaah prem tha. Unse haath milaakar dil aur zubaan se khudabakhud 'jay hind' nikalata tha! #jaihind"
("Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of CDS #GenBipinRawat , his wife and 11 more military officers. Had the good fortune of meeting #GeneralRawat many times. He had amazing audacity and unfathomable love for the country. Shaking hands with him, 'Jai Hind' would come out naturally from the heart and tongue! #JaiHind.")
Yami Gautam took to her Instagram story and shared a throwback picture featuring herself with the team of her patriotic movie 'URI: The Surgical Strike' posing with General Rawat. Sharing the snap, she wrote, "This is a memory from Army Day- January 15th 2019... an unforgettable day for us.. As an Indian, still trying to process this heartbreaking news. As a nation we mourn together."
Veteran actor Anil Kapoor also shared a throwback picture of himself posing with General Rawat and wrote, "A shocking and devasting loss. Sending our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families. I am honoured to have met Gen Bipin Rawat. Om Sadgati," adding a folded hands emoticon on his IG story.
Sonu Sood tweeted a black and white picture featuring General Rawat with his wife Madhulika Rawat and wrote, "You will live forever sir."
Other celebrities including Vivek Oberoi, Tamannaah Bhatia, Lara Dutta, and Ravi Kishan among others also mourned the demise of CDS General Bipin Rawat, on their social media handles.
The sad news was confirmed by Indian Air Force today through their official Twitter handle that read, "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 helicopter crashed around noon shortly after it took off from the Air Force base in Sulur, Coimbatore, for Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills. The General was heading to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course today.
The Indian Air Force has issued a list of names of General Rawat's staff who were on-board the crashed chopper. These include Brigadier LS Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, NK Gursewak Singh, NK Jitendra Kumar, L/NK Vivek Kumar, L/NK B Sai Teja and Hav Satpal are among those on board the aircraft.
The IAF has ordered an inquiry into the accident.
( With inputs from ANI )
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