Rajnath Singh was in Dehradun to lay the foundation stone for 'Sainya Dham'.
Halting his speech midway at a public function in Dehradun, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday requested the people in the rally to pray for the departed soul as he got the news regarding the death of Indian Air Force (IAF) Group Captain Varun Singh.
The news of IAF Group Captain Singh's death broke when Rajnath Singh was in Dehradun to attend the closing ceremony of a month-long "Shaheed Samman Yatra" and lay the foundation stone for 'Sainya Dham'.
Group Captain Singh, the lone survivor of the chopper crash that killed CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others last week, was under treatment at Command Hospital in Bengaluru.
He succumbed to the injuries during his treatment at the hospital in the afternoon today.
"Just now I have received the tragic news of the demise of Group Captain Varun Singh, who was also in the helicopter of General CDS Bipin Rawat that crashed last week. He was undergoing treatment at Command Hospital in Bengaluru where he succumbed to his injuries. May his soul rest in peace. I request all of you to stand up and pay homage to the departed soul," the minister said.
He added that Group Captain Varun Singh was a well-trained fighter pilot.
"I would not like to say more on this occasion. I would rest my speech," he said.
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