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 in New Delhi 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 Brig 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 Brig Lidder.
VIDEO: Brigadier Lidder's wife Geetika and daughter Aashana pay their last respects
Brigadier Lidder's wife Geetika was in tears as she knelt by the head of her husband's coffin, which was draped with the national flag and decked with flowers.
She 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 Aashana was by her mother's side, fighting back tears of her own while paying her homage to her father.
17-year-old Aashana said 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.
VIDEO: Doval, Khattar pay respects to Brigadier Lidder
"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 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 JAK RIF 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.
