The Tamil Nadu Police have dropped further action in the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter crash that killed India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 12 other defence personnel near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021.
Nearly two years after the tragic crash, the Upper Coonoor Police in the Nilgiris District, who registered a case under Section 174 of CrPC, kept the investigation pending for want of crucial evidence such as weather clearance report issued on December 8, 2021, and data from the helicopter’s Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder.
According to an investigator, the Sulur Air Base authorities refused to share the details saying the information came under the defence secrets category and directed the local police to approach the Directorate of Aerospace Safety.
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The Upper Coonoor Police were investigating the circumstances that led to the crashing of the IAF Mi-17 V5 which took off from the Sulur Air Force Station in Coimbatore to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. The ill-fated helicopter crashed into a deep valley minutes before landing due to suspected inclement weather.
A tri-service board of inquiry constituted to probe the crash had submitted its preliminary findings on January 14, 2022, concluding the crash occurred because of an “unexpected change” in weather conditions that led to spatial disorientation of the pilot, resulting in Controlled Flight into Terrain. The IAF had issued a statement that the Court of Inquiry ruled out any mechanical failure, sabotage or negligence as the cause of the accident.
“We concur with the findings of the tri-service board of inquiry. The helicopter was seen passing through thick clouds at a low height obviously trying to find its way to the destination amid inclement weather conditions. Our investigation has ruled out the possibility of any sabotage. But a conclusive report can be filed only after obtaining a copy of the weather clearance report and other data from the helicopter… we kept the probe pending awaiting a response from the defence authorities,” a senior police officer told The Hindu on Monday.
The Tamil Nadu Police have wound up the investigation in FIR 129/2021 registered by Upper Coonoor Police as “Further Action Dropped,” the officer, who did not want to be quoted, said.
