New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the Palam airport here on Thursday and paid his homage to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other armed forces personnel who lost their lives in the military chopper crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
At 7:46 pm, the mortal remains of the crash victims were brought to the Palam airport from the Sulur air base near Coimbatore. Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari brought the mortal remains of all the deceased.
The force said that positive identification of only three mortal remains -- Gen Rawat, Madhulika Rawat and Brig L.S. Lidder -- has been possible as of now, and their mortal remains will be released to the next of kin for final rites as desired by the respective families.
All possible measures are being taken for positive identification of the mortal remains. The remaining mortal remains will be kept at the mortuary of Army Base Hospital till completion of positive identification formalities, the force said.
Close family members of all the deceased personnel have arrived at Delhi. All necessary assistance and support are being provided by Indian Army.
Appropriate military funerals of all the deceased are being planned and coordinated in close consultation with the close family members.
Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for delay in recording statements of witnesses before a judicial magistrate in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, where eight persons were killed, and also told the state government to dispel the impression that it is dragging its feet in the matter.
In a statement, the minister termed the decision by the CBSE to include all regional languages in the minor subjects as a conspiracy to wean students away from their mother tongue.
Delhi government has always tried to release the compensation soon after the announcement and has done so in the past too, he said, adding that the compensation amount given by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)- led government is the highest in the country.
As per the information, Raj Kaur, a resident of Kassel, presently residing in Cheema Kalan in Tarn Taran district, had alleged that her brother Lakhbir Singh was allured by some persons and taken to Singhu where he was murdered by some Nihang Sikhs on October 15 for alleged sacrilege.
The issue was up for deliberation on Wednesday during the meeting between the party leaders and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Congress' Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat.
In an apparent embarrassment for the ruling Congress in Punjab, its legislator Joginder Pal and his security men allegedly assaulted a youth who questioned him about the work done in the constituency in nearly five years. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.
