New Delhi: India's first CDS, General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat were laid to rest with full military honours on Friday. He was accorded a sombre 17 gun salute in the line of defence protocol.
The daughters of Bipin Rawat and Madhulika Rawat, Kritika and Tarini paid tribute to their parents at the Brar Square Crematorium in Delhi Cantonment where their mortal remains were kept before performing last rites.
Other family members also joined the daughters to pay respects to the CDS and his wife.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami were among the dignitaries who also paid their tributes at the crematorium.
Earlier, the last journey of General Bipin Rawat passed through Delhi's Sardar Patel Marg. MP Manoj Tiwari along with hundreds of common people were paying their last respects to the general by standing on the side of the road.
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People with the tricolor and picture of General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat in their hands showered flowers on the last journey of the martyrs. The last yatra was attended by the family members of the martyrs including high officials from all parts of the army. Security arrangements were made on both sides of the road to keep the traffic normal during the journey.
Military personnel drawn from all the three services marched towards the streets as drummers played along in tribute to India's first Chief of Defence Staff.
As the mortal remains of General Rawat, carried in a casket wrapped in a tricolour, was moved to a gun carriage, decorated with flowers, people showered petals and raised slogans in his praise.
General Rawat, 63, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 11 other defence personnel were killed when a Mi17V5 helicopter carrying them crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
As India's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Rawat was tasked to bring in theatre command and jointness among the three services, and he was pushing these with a tough approach and specific timelines in the last two years.
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The mortal remains of General Rawat and his wife were kept at their official residence here before cremation, to allow people to pay respects.
Earlier in the day, right outside his official residence at 3, Kamraj Marg, several people who had gathered, raised slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Gen Rawat amar rahe', and 'Uttarakhand ka heera amar rahe', while dignitaries payed floral tributes and last respects till the funeral procession left the bungalow.
General Rawat's two daughters performed traditional rituals before the caskets of their parents were moved to the gun carriage.
Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and a host of other dignitaries, among others on Friday laid wreaths on the mortal remains of General Rawat and his wife.
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(With agency inputs)
