Nation to pay final respects to commander extraordinaire General Bipin Rawat today

New Delhi, Dec 10: The funeral of Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat will be held today. The people will be able to pay their final respects to the extraordinary commander who died in a chopper crash in Coonoor in Tamil Nadu along with 11 other personnel.

The bodies of General Rawat and his wife will be kept at their Kamaraj Marg residence from 11 am to 12.30 pm for the general public to pay their respects. The slot between 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm will be kept for the military personnel to pay their respects.

The final journey of General Rawat from his residence to the Brar Square crematorium is scheduled to begin at 2 pm. The funeral is scheduled for 4 pm. The funeral of Brigadier L S Lidder whose body was also identified as one of the casualties will be held at 9 am.

The IAF has confirmed the deaths of 13 people in the crash, but only three bodies have been identified so far. They are of General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and Brigadier L S Lidder. The Indian Army said that the bodies of those identified will be released to the families for last rites. The other bodies have been kept in the mortuary at the Army Base Hospital till they are identified.

On Thursday Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the country's top military brass paid homage to General Rawat, his wife and Brigadier Lidder.

NSA Ajit Doval, Army Chief M M Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, Air Chief Marshal A V R Chaudhari, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar were among those who paid homage to the deceased at a sombre ceremony.

Heart-wrenching scenes were seen at the Palam airport as 13 caskets were lined up inside a hangar in presence of their family members.