Terming the demise of General Bipin Rawat as a "big loss", a close friend and National Defence Academy (NDA) batchmate said the "visionary" was the right choice for the country's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Gen Rawat, his wife, and 11 Army, IAF personnel died in a chopper crash in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu December 08. CDS Rawat's DA Brigadier LS Lidder and SO Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, NK Gursewak Singh, NK Jitendra Kumar, L/NK Vivek Kumar, L/NK B Sai Teja, Hav Satpal were among other defence personnel on the ill-fated chopper. Group Captain Varun Singh, SC, Directing Staff at DSSC, the sole survivor of the crash, is undergoing treatment at Military Hospital in Wellington.
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