Army chopper crash: Nilgiris district police register case; Probe underway

Coonoor(TN), Dec 9: A case was registered by the police on Thursday in connection with the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter crash near here on December 8 that killed the Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others, and initiated a probe into the matter.

The Nilgiris district police registered the FIR under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and ADSP Muthumanikam was appointed as the investigation officer, official sources said.

A probe is underway. Police were using drone camera near the crash site as part of the investigation.

An IAF helicopter crashed at Katteri-Nanjappanchathram near here on Wednesday, killing India's first CDS, General Rawat, his wife and 11 other military personnel, with only one of the 14 passengers in the copter surviving the crash. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told Parliament that a tri-services inquiry led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh has started investigation into the crash.