Group Captain Varun Singh death: Emotional Rajnath Singh stops speech in rally

Dehradun: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh became emotional after receiving the news of the death of Group Captain Varun Singh, the only survivor of CDS General Bipin Rawat's helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. He was addressing a rally in Dehradun on Wednesday afternoon, during which he got the news of Varun Singh's death. He got emotional on this and stopped his speech for a few minutes. During this, Rajnath Singh appealed to the people present in the rally to keep silent for some time for the peace of the soul of Group Captain Varun Singh.

Rajnath Singh came to know about Varun Singh's death when he was addressing the concluding ceremony of the month-long Shaheed Samman Yatra.

During this, the Defence Minister also laid the foundation stone of 'Sainya Dham'. This memorial is being built in memory of the martyred soldiers is being told as the fifth Dham after the four Dhams in Uttarakhand. On December 8, CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other army officers were killed in a helicopter crash in Coonoor, Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. Varun Singh was the sole survivor of this horrific accident. He was immediately admitted to a hospital in Chennai. He was later shifted to the Military Hospital in Bangalore for better treatment.

On receiving the news of Group Captain's death Singh said " I have just received the sad news of the passing away of Group Captain Varun Singh. He was present in the helicopter with CDS General Bipin Rawat, which crashed last week. He was undergoing treatment at Command Hospital in Bengaluru, where he breathed his last. May his soul rest in peace. I appeal to all of you to stand up and pray for the departed soul's peace. For a week, the team of doctors kept making every effort to save him, but could not get success. Meanwhile, on Wednesday afternoon, he breathed his last during treatment".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences on Twitter. "Group Captain Varun Singh served the nation with pride, valour and utmost professionalism. I am extremely anguished by his passing away. His rich service to the nation will never be forgotten. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti.", he tweeted.

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