India's Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, who along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others, died when an IAF helicopter crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, was supposed to visit Madhya Pradesh in January 2022, as per his relative.
He was supposed to visit Shahdol, which is the birthplace of his wife, and attend the inaugural function of a Sainik School in the district, his brother-in-law Yashvardhan Singh, who was in Bhopal on Wednesday and left for Delhi soon after the incident took place, said.
"Around 10 days back, I had spoken to him on the phone and I had requested him to visit Shahdol. He had promised that he would come to Shahdol to attend the inaugural function of the Sainik School. He (Rawat) said he would come to Rewa and then visit Shahdol," Singh said.
As per information, Rawat was supposed to visit the Sainik School in Rewa, the only Sainik School in Madhya Pradesh.
"We had already started the procedure for establishing a Sainik School in Shahdol district and we were eager to welcome him and my sister as she had last visited her birthplace in 2012," Singh said.
He further said that General Rawat had agreed to visit Shahdol after his repeated requests. "During my marriage in 1994, he was stuck somewhere in the border area, hence he could not attend. And that is why, I made repeated requests to him to visit Shahdol. He was very happy to know that Shahdol, an Adivasi-dominated area in Madhya Pradesh, will have a Sainik School. He would always talk about the Army and sacrifices of soldiers," he recalled.
Madhulika, who had married Gen Rawat in 1985, was the daughter of Mrigendra Singh, who belongs to the Rewa dynasty and was elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly from Sohagpur Assembly constituency in 1967 and then again in 1972.
