General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 others died in a helicopter crash today
Describing Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat as a very good officer from a fine military family, former Army chief General (retd) Shankar Roychowdhury on Wednesday said that he was making "necessary adjustments" among the three forces.
Noting that General Rawat was one of his cadets when he was the battalion commander in the Indian Military Academy, General (retd) Roychowdhury said that he is "very sorry" that this has happened.
"He was a bright cadet and justified all our expectations by getting the sword of honour in his course," General (retd) Roychowdhury, who was also the staff officer of Gen Rawat's father Lt Gen (retd) LS Rawat for some time, said.
"They were a fine military family," he said, reminiscing his association with them.
As the first CDS, General Rawat was doing a good job in bringing "necessary adjustments" among the three forces -- Army, Navy and Air Force, he said.
"As CDS, his work was to iron out differences among the three forces," General (retd) Roychowdhury, who was the Chief of Army Staff from November 1994 to September 1997, said.
"The next CDS will have to be chosen from among the chiefs of the three forces based on seniority, and he must also be fit for the job," he added.
General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 other defence personnel died in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu apparently due to foggy weather conditions. He was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the staff course.
Group Captain Varun Singh is currently being treated at a military hospital in Wellington.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)