WATCH | 17-Gun Salute Accorded To CDS General Bipin Rawat Before Last Rites

A ceremonial battery of 2233 Field Regiment provided gun carriage and about 800 service personnel were in attendance for the funeral of General Bipin Rawat.

General Rawat was accorded a 17 gun salute as per laid down protocols (Screengrab)

New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu, was cremated on Friday after being accorded a 17-gun salute.

A ceremonial battery of 2233 Field Regiment provided gun carriage and about 800 service personnel were in attendance for the funeral of General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat. 

WATCH VIDEO: 17-Gun Salute Accorded To CDS General Bipin Rawat

The couple's two daughters Tarini and Kritika conducted the last rites amid heart-wrenching scenes at the Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment.

As a priest chanted Sanskrit shlokas, the 17-gun salute rang out in accordance with protocol and the twin pyres were lit, PTI reported.

Hundreds lined up the streets as the truck carrying the coffins made its way to Delhi's Brar crematorium amid chants of 'Vande Mataram' and 'General Rawat amar rahe'.

READ | Coonoor Crash: Last Moments Of CDS Bipin Rawat's Helicopter MI-17V5? Video Surfaces

Earlier in the day, mortal remains of General Rawat and Madhulika Rawat were brought to their residence at 3 Kamraj Lane in Delhi. Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister from Rawat’s home state Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath were among the dignitaries who paid their tribute to the CDS at his residence in Delhi.

Military commanders of Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh joined the final rites of General Bipin Rawat.

CDS General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder and 10 others died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. The Indian Air Force Mi-17V-5 helicopter crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu shortly after it took off from Sulur Air Base in Coimbatore.

The lone survivor, Group Captain Varun Singh, is currently undergoing treatment at a military hospital in Bengaluru.

General Rawat had served as the Chief of the Indian Army from December 17, 2016, to December 31, 2019. He was appointed as India's first Chief of Defence Staff on December 31, 2019.