A parliamentary panel report has attributed the December 8, 2021, helicopter crash that killed India's first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, and his wife, to "human error." The report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, also revealed that 34 Indian Air Force aircraft accidents occurred during the 13th Defence Plan period, including nine in 2021-22 and 11 in 2018-19.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others were killed after their aircraft crashed in Baramati on January 28, 2026. Here are 11 other prominent Indians who died in air crashes.
East Bengal FC produced a disciplined defensive performance to hold arch-rivals Mohun Bagan Super Giant to a goalless draw and qualify for the semifinals of the Super Cup.
General Manoj Mukund Naravane's memoir has triggered a controversy by revealing behind-the-scenes decision-making during the 2020 India-China standoff in Ladakh. Its candid account of military and political responses at a critical moment has reignited debate over civil-military relations, accountability, and the limits of disclosure in matters of national security.
Vijay Rawat, brother of India's first chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat who recently died in a helicopter crash, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others were killed when an Indian Air Force helicopter carrying them crashed on Wednesday near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu in apparently foggy conditions, killing 13 people on board, the IAF and other officials said.
It's been a year since a helicopter crash in the Nilgiris tragically took away India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 10 other military officers and personnel.
Lt General Rawat belongs to the famous 5th Battalion of 11th Gorkha Rifles. He is the current vice chief of army staff of Indian Army.
Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who died in a tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday, joined the list of several top Indian politicians and prominent personalities who lost their lives in aviation accidents.
Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday laid wreaths on the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat.
The chopper took off at 11.48 am from the Sulur Air Base and was reported to be missing at around 12.22 pm, sources informed.
Huge crowds of mourners gathered outside as armed forces personnel took the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat inside the Brar Square crematorium in the Delhi Cantonment on Friday.
'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 IAF tweeted.
General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others were killed in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, the Indian Air Force said.
Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan was the pilot of the crashed Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17V5 helicopter, carrying Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and 13 others, informed sources.
Here is a timeline of what happened to the Indian Air Force helicopter carrying Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and others that crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday:
The plaintive strains of bugles sounding the last post broke through the hush, men in uniform clicked their heels and a 17-gun salute rang out as Gen Bipin Rawat and his wife were cremated on Friday evening -- the sun setting on a day written into India's military history and on the life of its most senior military officer.
"The force is to maintain peace and tranquillity at the border but it will not shy away from flexing its muscles, if the need be," Gen Rawat said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the Palam airbase in New Delhi and paid his last respects to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and other 11 armed force personnel who lost their lives in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
Several politicians, including senior ministers, wished for the well-being and safety of Rawat and others on board.
Condemning irresponsible social media posts and rejoicing over the demise of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat in a military chopper crash, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said he has asked the police to identify and initiate legal action against them.
Rawat was briefed on the prevailing security situation in J&K Valley and recent operations conducted by the security forces.
The Lok Sabha observed a two-minute silence on the demise of the 13 people.
Condolences over the demise of chief of defence staff Gen Bipin Rawat poured in on Wednesday from various countries, including the US, Russia and Pakistan.
A quintessential military commander, Gen Bipin Rawat possessed an uncanny understanding of geopolitical upheavals, calibrated a tri-services military doctrine to make India face myriad security challenges, and is largely credited with bringing down militancy in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.
The mortal remains were brought to the Madras Regimental Centre where people paid floral tribute to General Rawat and other personnel.
The Padma Bhushan was conferred on 17 personalities including N Chandrasekharan, chairman of Tata Sons, Krishna and Suchita Ella of Bharat Biotech, Cyrus Poonawalla, Satya Nadella, chairman of Microsoft, Sunder Pichai, chairman of Google.
Glimpses of General Bipin Rawat in the weeks leading to his tragic death on Wednesday.
Sources said Singh has briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the crash and the Indian Air Force chief has been asked to reach the site.
In a composed and clear presentation, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi announced that nine terrorist facilities had been destroyed in the tri-services operation.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha that IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor in the military chopper crash in Tamil Nadu, is on life support in the Military Hospital at Wellington, Tamil Nadu.
Here are some of the glimpses from the celebration.
Currently women are allowed in a number of select areas including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the army.
Major Prafulla Menezes (retd), Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh's wife, and young daughter Preet Kaur pay homage to a husband and father, whose services to the motherland, will always be remembered, never forgotten.
Official sources said Singh will brief President Kovind about the accident as well as the situation arising out of it.
All the mangled remains of the helicopter, which crashed at Nanjapachatram near Coonoor in the Nilgiris district killing 14 including the country's first chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat have been collected from the site.
The police arrested a man in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly making objectionable remarks on Facebook over the death of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat and others in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, an official said.
Opposition parties on Thursday suspended their dharna against the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs at the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Parliament complex in view of the death of Chief of Defence staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others in a chopper crash a day ago.
The black box, comprising the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), of the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force was recovered from the crash site on Thursday.
IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor in the helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and 12 others, is being shifted to Bengaluru from the Army hospital at Wellington in Tamil Nadu, his father said on Thursday.
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