General Rawat's Daughters Immerse Parents' Ashes In Ganga At Haridwar

A day after India bid a sombre farewell to the country's first Chief Defence of Staff, General Bipin Rawat and his wife - killed in a chopper crash on Wednesday - General Rawat's daughters took his ashes to Haridwar today for immersion.

The ashes were collected from Delhi's Brar Square crematorium this morning, where the last rites were performed, by General Rawat's daughters - Kritika and Tarini, news agency ANI reported. They were immersed in the Ganga at Haridwar in the afternoon.

With full military honours, General Rawat, 63, and his wife Madhulika were cremated on Friday after a solemn procession from his house on a ceremonial gun carriage.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress's Rahul Gandhi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among several top political leaders who visited his Delhi home to pay final respects. 

"After the cremation today at Delhi Cantonment's crematorium, we will be taking his 'asthi' (ashes) to Haridwar tomorrow," General Rawat's younger daughter, Tarini, had told news agency PTI on Friday.

"We will be taking his ashes, after the cremation, to Haridwar (in Uttarakhand) tomorrow. Our family members will be going to the holy town to immerse his 'asthi' (ashes) into the Ganga river," Vijay Rawat, his brother, further said.

The chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday that claimed 13 lives will be investigated by tri-service inquiry headed by Air Force's senior-most helicopter pilot Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament on Thursday.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)