The authorities have managed to identify all the 13 who died in the helicopter crash last week and handed over their mortal remains to their relatives.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt and the three Services chiefs on Sunday paid their last respects to Lt Colonel Harjinder Singh, who was among those killed along with Chief of Defence Staff(CDS)General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika.
While the bodies of General Rawat, his wife and his advisor Brigadier L S Lidder were identified the next day after the crash on December 8, the authorities took time in identifying the other casualties. The bodies had suffered severe burn injuries thereby making the process of identification difficult.
Rajnath laid a wreath on the mortal remains of Lt Colonel Singh at the Brar Square in Delhi Cantonment before his cremation. Army chief General M M Naravane, Air chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, and other military officers paid tributes to Lt Colonel Singh, who is survived by his wife Major Agnes P Manezes (retired) and daughter Preet Kaur.
Lt Colonel Singh, who served as Staff Officer to the CDS, belonged to 11 Gorkha Rifles, the same regiment as Rawat. He had served in various operations with his battalion including deployment on the Siachen Glacier and a tenure in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission. General Rawat, his wife and Brigadier Lidder were cremated on Friday.
Others who were killed in the crash were Wing Commander P S Chauhan, Squadron Leader K Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek, Lance Naik B S Teja, Havaldar Satpal, Junior Warrant Officer(JWO) Das and JWO Pradeep.