Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder, who died in an ill-fated IAF chopper crash on Wednesday, was laid to final rest today. Nation bid farewell to the gallant Brig Lidder as his last rites
were performed with full military honours at the Brar Square Crematorium in Delhi Cantonment.
He is survived by his wife and daughter Aashna.
After the bodies were landed on Thursday, the family members of the martyrs reached the place to bid farewell and pay tribute to their loved ones.
Daughter of Brigadier LS Lidder reached near the coffin and watched for a few moments and then bowed down and kissed his coffin. Like Aashna, her mother also paid her respects by placing
her head on her husband's coffin.
Fondly called Tony, Brig Lidder hailed from Panchkula, Haryana. He was serving as the Defence Adviser to the CDS Rawat.
He had been on Bipin Rawat's staff for almost a year. Brig Lidder was about to be promoted to the rank of General Officer Commanding a Division.
Before Brig Lidder's funeral, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute to him. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Union Minister and Brig Lidder's batchmate, was also present at the
Brar Square Crematorium.
At the Brar Square Crematorium, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Army Chief General MM Naravane, Naval Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, and Air Chief Marshal AVR Chaudhari also paid their
respects. Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana, was also present.
Brig Lidder had worked as a Defence Assistant to CDS General Bipin Rawat on tri-service reform.
Brig Lidder, a recipient of the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal, also served as Kazakhstan's defence attache during his long career.
While serving as CDS General Rawat's defence assistant, Brig Lidder was instrumental in developing a strategy for India's higher defence reforms, including a road map for implementing
tri-services theatre commands to promote enhanced coordination across the Army, Air Force, and Navy.
The mortal remains of 13 martyrs, including the first CDS Bipin Rawat, who was martyred in the Coonoor helicopter crash, were flown with full respect from the Madras Regimental Center, Tamil
Nadu to Palam Airport, Delhi on Thursday.