Helicopter crash: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, MoS Defence Ajay Bhatt, armed forces chiefs pay last respects to Lt Col Harjinder Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, MoS Defence Ajay Bhatt and the chiefs of the armed forces on Sunday paid their last respects to Lt Colonel Harjinder Singh, who was among the 13 people killed in a helicopter crash in Coonoor in Tamil Nadu last week. Singh laid a wreath on the mortal remains of Lt Col Singh at the Brar Square in Delhi Cantonment before his cremation.

Army chief General M M Naravane, Air chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, and other military officers paid tributes to Lt Col Singh, who is survived by his wife Maj Agnes P Manezes (retd.) and daughter Preet Kaur.

India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Lt Colonel Harjinder Singh and 10 others, all from the armed forces, were killed in the helicopter crash in Coonoor on December 8.


Lt Col Singh, who served as Staff Officer to the CDS, belonged to 11 Gorkha Rifles, the same regiment as Rawat.

He had served in various operations with his battalion including deployment on the Siachen Glacier and a tenure in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission.

Two days ago, Gen Rawat and his wife were given a send-off with full military honours at the Brar Square crematorium.

The lone survivor of the crash was Group Captain Varun Singh, who is undergoing treatment in Bengaluru.

Others who were killed in the crash were Wing Commander P S Chauhan, Squadron Leader K Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek, Lance Naik B S Teja, Havaldar Satpal, JWO Das and JWO Pradeep.