Brigadier Lidder cremated with full military honours; Rajnath Singh, Ajit Doval, ML Khattar pay last respects

New Delhi, December 10

Brigadier L S Lidder, who died along with 12 others in the chopper crash in Tamil Nadu, was cremated with full military honours at the Brar Square crematorium here on Friday.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar earlier in the morning laid wreaths on Lidder’s mortal remains, which were kept at Brar Square in Delhi cantonment before the cremation.

Many senior defence personnel also paid their last respects to Lidder.

Geetika Lidder, wife of Brigadier Lidder, told reporters after the cremation that she is feeling more pain than any pride.

“Life is too long to spend but if this is the wish of God, we will live with it. This is not the way we wanted him back,” she stated.

She mentioned that he was a very good father and their daughter will really miss him.

“It is a big loss,” she added.

Daughter Aashna Lidder said she is 17 years old and she will keep all the good memories of the 17 years she spent with her father.

“I am happy he did not have to suffer. It is a national loss. My father was a hero,” she mentioned.

She said her father was a happy-go-lucky person and was her best friend.

“He used to infuse passion not just in me but in every person. He was a great motivator,” she noted.

“I feel scared as I was really pampered by my father,” he added.

Along with Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, Lidder was among the 13 killed when an Mi17V5 helicopter carrying them crashed in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

Born on June 26, 1969, Brigadier Lidder was defence assistant to the CDS since January 2021.

He was commissioned in the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAKRIF) in December 1990 and commanded a battalion of the JAKRIF in Congo as UN peacekeeping force. He also commanded a brigade on India’s northern borders.

He served as director at the Military Operations Directorate and also as defence assistant at Kazakhstan.

Approved for the Major General rank, he was due to take over a division. PTI

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