Chopper crash: PSO of Gen Bipin Rawat among 12 army personnel who lost their lives

The Personal Security Officer (PSO) of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, Lance Naik B. Sai Teja, was among the 12 army personnel who lost their lives in the military helicopter crash that took place on Wednesday.

Speaking to , Sai Teja's niece, B. Sukumar said that Lance Naik Teja spoke to the family on a video call in the morning preceding the crash and they were shocked to know the sudden development that took place in the afternoon.

Sukumar further said that Sai Teja last visited home in September on the occasion of the Vinayaka Chaviti festival.

Lance Naik Sai Teja, born at Kantevaripalli village in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district, joined the Indian Army in 2013 in the Bengaluru Regiment.

After serving for a year in the Army, he again attended departmental exams and was posted as Lance Naik at 11 Para (special forces). He rendered services at the Bengaluru Army training camp and was later appointed in the personal security wing of CDS.

Sai Teja is survived by his wife Syamala and two kids - a two-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son. His brother Mahesh Babu is also serving in the army and is currently posted in Sikkim.

People from various parts of the district have been expressing their solidarity and offering condolences to the family members of the deceased Lance Naik.

Lance Naik's funeral will be performed at his native village as per the Hindu customs, informed Sukumar.

On Wednesday, an IAF chopper crash in Tamil Nadu claimed the lives of 13 people including General Bipin Rawat and his wife.

General Rawat, India's first CDS, was on a visit to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course when his chopper crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

General Rawat was appointed as India's first Chief of Defence Staff on December 31, 2019. He previously served as Chief of the Army Staff from January 2017 to December 2019. He was commissioned into the Indian Army in December 1978.

A veteran of counterinsurgency warfare, CDS Rawat served in the most difficult terrains including Northern and Eastern commands.

( With inputs from ANI )

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