Group Captain Varun Singh cremated with full state, military honours
Varun Singh, 39, who was honoured with Shaurya Chakra, hailed from Uttar Pradesh but his parents had settled in Bhopal.
The last rites of Group Captain Varun Singh, who was the pilot of the chopper that crashed in Tamil Nadu on December 8, were performed with full state and military honours in Bhopal on Friday.
The Group Captain, who was battling for life since December 8 and was on life support, succumbed to his injuries in a hospital in Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon, a week after the Mi-17V5 helicopter crash near Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor, in which India’s first chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 armed forces personnel were killed.
The mortal remains of the Group Captain wrapped in a tricolour were brought to Bairagarh crematorium from the Military Hospital in a decorated Army truck. A ceremonial guard of honour was given by defence forces personnel, after which the senior services officers paid their tributes by laying floral wreaths on the coffin of the Group Captain.
Singh’s younger brother, Tanuj Singh, a lieutenant commander in the Indian Navy, and his son, Radduman Singh, performed the last rites amid the slogans of ‘Group Captain Varun Singh amar rahe’ raised by the people.
Singh’s wife Geetanajali Singh, daughter Aradhya Singh, his father Colonel KP Singh (retd), mother Uma besides, other close relatives were also present to bid a teary-eyed farewell to him.
Singh’s mother, Uma Singh said, “I am proud of my son, my daughter-in-law is a brave woman.”
Group Captain Singh was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra, the country’s third highest peacetime gallantry award, in August this year for displaying exemplary composure and skill when his Tejas aircraft developed a technical snag during the sortie.
The 39-year-old officer is survived by an 11-year-old son, an eight-year-old daughter and his wife. Singh’s family originally hails from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, but his parents had settled in Bhopal.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, leaders from both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress also paid their tributes to the Group Captain.
Chouhan on Thursday had said that in order to keep the Group Captain’s memories alive, an institution or a building will be named after him by the state government in consultation with his family.
“An ex gratia of ₹1 crore will be provided to his family. Besides, a government job will be provided to a family member,” Chouhan had said.
Group Captain Singh graduated from the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 2003. He was commissioned as a fighter pilot in 2004 and mainly flew Jaguars and Tejas during his flying career.
He was posted to Defence Services Staff College as an instructor when he passed away
