Brigadier Lidder cremated with full military honours; Defence Minister, NSA pay respects

New Delhi: 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.

Along with Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, Lidder was among the 13 killed when a 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. He is survived by wife Geetika Lidder and a daughter.