Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday announced an ex-gratia of ₹1 crore to the family of Lance Naik Jitendra Kumar, who lost his life during the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) chopper crash on December 9 near Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor. Chief of defence staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other army personnel died in the tragic crash. Kumar was the Personal Security Officer of the CDS.
The chief minister promised that Kumar’s daughter would be given a government job and a school would be named after him. He also said that a memorial in honour of the soldier would be constructed at Dhamanda village in Sehore district of the state.
“I pay tribute to Jitendra Kumar ji, who was martyred in the helicopter crash. His family will be honoured with ₹1 crore, his wife Sunita will be given a government job, and a school will be named after Jitendra ji. A memorial will be built in the soldier's memory in Dhamanda village,” Chouhan said.
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Meanwhile, Kumar was cremated earlier in the day with full military honour at Dhamanda, his native village. Chouhan, officials and people from different parts of the district were present when the mortal remains of Kumar reached Dhamanda from state capital Bhopal. Chouhan also met the family members of Kumar and consoled them.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Kumar was cremated earlier in the day with full military honour at Dhamanda, his native village. Chouhan, officials and people from different parts of the district were present when the mortal remains of Kumar reached Dhamanda from state capital Bhopal. Chouhan also met the family members of Kumar and consoled them.
{{/usCountry}}The mortal remains of all personnel who lost their lives in the crash have been identified. While the final rites of CDS Rawat, his wife and Brigadier LS Lidder were performed at the Brar Square crematorium in Delhi cantonment on Friday, Lt Col Harjinder Singh, who also died in the crash, was laid to rest at the same venue on Sunday. Union defence minister Rajnath Singh attended the cremation of all three personnel.
The IAF has said that it has constituted a “tri-service Court of Inquiry” to investigate the cause of the accident and has also advised that any “uninformed speculation” regarding the accident should be avoided to “respect the dignity of the deceased.” Several state governments and police have also warned against offensive or false social media posts regarding the accident.