Tag: Bipin Rawat

  • Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat dies in army helicopter crash

    Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat dies in army helicopter crash

    Indian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said.

    “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,” tweeted the IAF.

    Reacting to the news, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wrote: “I am deeply anguished by the helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu in which we have lost Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and other personnel of the Armed Forces. They served India with utmost diligence. My thoughts are with the bereaved families.”

    13 out of 14 people died. Gp Capt Varun Singh SC, Directing Staff at DSSC with injuries is currently under treatment at Military Hospital, Wellington.

    CDS General Bipin Rawat was the highest-serving official in the Indian armed forces, who was appointed to the newly created post of CDS, a day before he was set to retire as the army chief on December 31, 2019. As part of his new assignment, Gen Rawat was heading the new Department of Military Affairs in the Defence Ministry.

    In Dec 2015, the Modi government had appointed Gen Rawat as the army chief by superseding two senior officers.

    Earlier today, an Indian Army helicopter with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and other senior Indian defence officials on board crashed in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor.

  • Indian army helicopter with Defence General Bipin Rawat on board crashes

    An Indian Army helicopter with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and other senior Indian defence officials on board crashed in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor on Wednesday.

    “An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu,” confirmed the Indian Air Force official Twitter account.

    Indian news agency ANI tweeted about the crash, saying that 14 people in total were on board the chopper, including the Indian defence assistant, IAF pilots and security commandos. 

    The latest visuals shared from the place of the crash clearly show the amount of damage done to the crash.

  • Indian army chief responds to PM Imran’s warning, threatens to cross LoC

    Indian army chief responds to PM Imran’s warning, threatens to cross LoC

    Reacting to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s warning to the world if tensions between Pakistan and India escalate to a nuclear war, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has threatened to cross the Line of Control (LoC) “if they have to”, Times of India reported.

    According to the details, Bipin’s remarks came after the premier, in his United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) address, warned the world of a potential nuclear war if India continued its actions in held Kashmir.

    Bipin said that PM Imran “must understand that nuclear weapons are meant for deterrence and they are not to be used in a conventional war”.

    The Indian army chief said that the “2016 surgical strikes and the Balakot airstrikes in 2019 sent a clear message to Pakistan that India is not interested in playing a hide and seek” game anymore.

    BOGUS SURGICAL STRIKES & FAILED AIRSTRIKES:

    On September 28, 2016, India had claimed that the country carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC, inflicting “significant casualties”.

    The Pakistan military, however, had swiftly rubbished the notions of a surgical strike, saying, “This quest by the Indian establishment to create media hype by rebranding cross-border fire as a surgical strike is fabrication of the truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, the same will be strongly responded.”

    Three years later, following the Pulwama incident in which 44 Indian paramilitary soldiers lost their lives, two Indian aircraft entered Pakistani air space on February 27 for the second time in two days, engaged with Pakistan Air Force (PAF), and as a result, were shot down.

    The wreckage of one of the planes landed in Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), and the wreckage of the other plane landed in the Indian-occupied Kasmir (IoK), Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had confirmed at the time.

    Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was held captive following the aerial dogfight, was handed over to India on March 1 in a peace gesture after PM Imran had announced to release him in an attempt to “de-escalate tensions” between the two countries.

  • VIDEO: ‘Troops ready to make Azad Kashmir part of India,’ army chief says

    VIDEO: ‘Troops ready to make Azad Kashmir part of India,’ army chief says

    Amid heightened tensions and Narendra Modi-led Indian government’s threats of “invading” Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) region of the country, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has said his “troops are ready to make the territory a part of India”.

    “Indian troops are ready to retrieve Pakistan occupied Kashmir and make it a part of India, but it is the government which takes decisions in such matters,” Gen Rawat said while speaking to an Indian news agency.

    He said that the institutions of the country will work as per the orders of the government, but the army is always ready.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Earlier, a similar statement was made by Indian Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who had said that after the abrogation of Article 370 in India Held Kashmir (IHK), the next agenda of the government was to “retrieve Pakistan-administered Kashmir”.

    Singh, however, was brutally trolled by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor, who suggested him “to consult Indian Air Force (IAF) before taking any such steps”.

    https://twitter.com/peaceforchange/status/1171493626024587270

    He had ridiculed the Indian minister while mentioning failed Indian airstrikes from February 2019, which resulted in two IAF jets being shot down by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and capture of pilot Abhinandan Varthaman.

  • Information warfare: Indian army chief accepts defeat against Pakistan

    Information warfare: Indian army chief accepts defeat against Pakistan

    Expressing fear over Pakistan’s strategy on information warfare, Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat has admitted India’s defeat, Dunya News reported Tuesday.

    According to reports, days after operational information of the Indian army was leaked, Gen Rawat said that such incidents had compelled him to warn former army officials to be careful while using social media.

    An ex-general of the Indian Army, Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, said that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) — military’s media wing — had “outclassed the Indian army in information war” by connecting with the masses.

    He said that India started losing the narrative in occupied Kashmir after ISPR smartly ensured detailed alienation of Kashmiris against Indian armed forces.

    “Our army has made several tactical mistakes over the past 30 years and using military operations for psychological warfare was India’s fatal mistake,” the former military general added.