Floral tributes paid at helicopter crash site in Nanjappa Chatram near Coonoor 

Rear Admiral Puruvir Das, officiating Commandant, Defence service staff College, Wellington, paying floral tributes to former CDS Bipin Rawat and others on the second anniversary at the helicopter crash site in Nanjappa Chatram near Coonoor on Friday. | Photo Credit: M. SATHYAMOORTHY

Rear Admiral Puruvir Das paid floral tributes at the memorial erected to honour the former Chief of Defence Staff, Bipin Rawat, his wife, Madhulika and 12 other military personnel who died in a helicopter crash at Nanjappa Chatram near Kattery Park in 2021.

Mr. Das, who is the officiating Commandant of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, along with other top military personnel paid tributes at the memorial stone, ‘Smritka,’ installed at the site of the chopper crash recently.

The tributes were paid to mark the second anniversary of the incident, in which Mr. Rawat, his wife Madhulika, Brigadier L.S. Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Group Captain Varun Singh, Wing Commander Prithvi Singh, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officers Rana Pratap Das, A. Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Lance Naiks Jitender Kumar, Gursewak Singh, Vivek Kumar and Sasi Teja, were killed when the helicopter in which they were traveling to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, Coonoor, crashed along the hillside.

Mr. Das also interacted with the residents of Nanjappa Chatram, lauding them for their help in rescue operations in the immediate aftermath of the accident. Afterwards, he also handed over gifts to the residents and thanked them for their assistance during the time of the rescue operations.