India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat is no more as what was supposed to be a journey of fostering defence students had eventually put a tragic end to a trailblazing military career. Rawat, a 63-year-old general in the country's defence ecosystem, had been an instrumental face in the armed forces and has held crucial roles in his decades-spanning military career. He was weeks ahead to mark his second anniversary as CDS and his demise has come when India is enhancing its defence corridor across the land and maritime borders. 

Bipin Rawat has died in the chopper crash in the hilly district of Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. The accident has happened at 12.20 pm and he was travelling in a Mi-17V5 series chopper operated by the Indian Air Force. This type of chopper has been labelled as a sophisticated carrier that can whir against difficult and challenging weather conditions. India has over 150 choppers of such model in its defence fleet and they were mainly imported from Russia and used to transport VVIPs including the President and the Prime Minister. 

On Wednesday, Bipin Rawat arrived in Tamil Nadu to deliver a lecture at Defence Service Staff College in Wellington, Nilgiris. The chopper was carrying 14 people on board including Rawat, his wife, top military generals, and five crew members. However, minutes ahead of landing, the chopper had lost its control and crashed on the ground. It was cited that foggy weather was a reason why the chopper has crashed and the mishap had the equipment burning for over an hour. Rawat's condition was immediately not known and later, it was declared that he and his wife were among the 13 deceased. As the nation has been mourning his loss, let's take a look at the timeline of the events. 

• 9 am (Wednesday): General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and other senior personnel had departed from Delhi in a special aircraft. 
• 11.35 am: The aircraft that took off from Delhi has landed at the Sulur Air Force Base in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.
• 11.45 am: Minutes later, Rawat, his wife, and other officials had boarded an IAF Mi-17V5 chopper from the Air Force Base.
•  The chopper was about to land in Defense Service Staff College in Wellington and it was piloted by Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, who was the Commanding Officer of the 109 Helicopter Unit. 
• The Estimated Time of Arrival at the college was 12.30 pm. 
• However, around ten minutes before landing, the chopper had suffered a crash at 12.20 pm in the Katteri-Nanchappanchatram area near Coonoor. 
• The crash had shakened the area, which was covered by a billow of smoke. 
• Following the crash, the locals had rushed to the crash site and the reports say that they had alerted district police and authorities following which the rescue operation was initiated. 
• 1.53 pm: The Indian Air Force had confirmed that General Bipin Rawat was on board the chopper that was crashed. It said that an inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident. 
• When it was confirmed that General Bipin Rawat was on board, the accident had quickly drawn national attention and questions were rife about the condition of Bipin Rawat. 
• The locals have said that the fire was burning for over an hour, which disrupted the relief works. However, the rescue teams had managed to recover the bodies of the people on board and due to the difficulty of identification as bodies were charred, it was decided to perform DNA testing.
• 4.48 pm: It was confirmed that 13 of the 14 personnel on board had died. 
• 6.03 pm: The Indian Air Force has officially announced that General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 11 other persons on board have died.
• The sole survivor of the crash was Captain Varun Singh, who is currently getting treated at Military Hospital in Wellington. 

Taking to Twitter, the Indian Air Force said, "Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course today." "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", it added. After learning about his demise, national leaders including the President, the Prime Minister, and Union Ministers had paid tribute and remembered his services to the nation. 

General Rawat has been a doyen of the Indian Armed Forces and in his trailblazing military career-spanning for over four decades, Rawat has largely been credited with bringing down militancy in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. He had served in crucial roles including India's 26th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) and led the ground forces in challenging terrains and battlefields. He had served as the 57th and last Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and scripted history by being the inaugural holder of the post of Chief of Defence Staff.

The CDS was established by the current term of the Modi regime and Rawat was appointed as India's first CDS in January 2020. As the CDS, he was tasked to bring in theatre command and jointness among the three services and he pushed his task with tough approaches in the last two years. Rawat had played a major role in successfully carrying out the 2015 cross-border operation into Myanmar in response to an ambush attack by Naga militants. He was also part of the planning when India carried out surgical strikes against terror launch pads across the Line of Control in Pakistani-Occupied Kashmir that caused fatalities to the neighbouring adversary.

Known to be a forthright and outstanding commander, Rawat's trailblazing military career had come to a tragic end with the military chopper crash. As there were several questions before us over the accident, the Indian Air Force had affirmed that an inquiry will be conducted into the accident. Born into an army family, Rawat has left a history, legacy, and void in the defence ecosystem, that probably would suffer a huge blow with his loss. According to ANI, the bodies of those who died in the military chopper crash have been brought to Madras Regimental Centre from the Military Hospital in Wellington and the bodies will be taken to Delhi by the evening of Thursday. 

Tamil Nadu: Bodies of those who died in the military chopper crash yesterday have been brought to Madras Regimental Centre from Military Hospital, Wellington in Nilgiris district pic.twitter.com/7MVQ8FQlvx

— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2021