Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar on Friday laid wreaths on the mortal remains of Brigadier L S Lidder, who died along with 12 others in the military chopper crash in Tamil Nadu.

Brigadier Lidder's mortal remains were kept at Brar square in Delhi cantonment before his cremation.

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

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.

The Centre has ordered a 'tri service' inquiry into the accident. The inquiry will be headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command. Recently, the black box of the chopper has been recovered from the crash site. A team of Tamil Nadu's Forensic Science Department also visited the crash site.