New Delhi: Singh was the only man to have survived the December 8 Mi-17V5 chopper crash that killed 13 people including CDS General Bipin Rawat, but he died of his injuries after putting up a brave, week-long fight against death.

President Ram Nath Kovind awards the Shaurya Chakra to Group Captain Varun Singh (Posthumous), in New Delhi on Tuesday. Singh was chosen for the award for exceptional courage and remarkable presence of mind in handling a rare mid-air emergency involving the Tejas light combat aircraft in October 2020.

Group Captain Varun Singh, who died after suffering serious injuries in the chief of defence staff (CDS) chopper crash last December, was on Tuesday posthumously awarded Shaurya Chakra, the country’s third-highest peacetime gallantry medal, by President Ram Nath Kovind for a previous act of valour.

His wife Geetanjali Singh and mother Uma Singh received the award.

Singh was the only man to have survived the December 8 Mi-17V5 chopper crash that killed 13 people including CDS General Bipin Rawat, but he died of his injuries after putting up a brave, week-long fight against death.

The government announced the Shaurya Chakra for Singh on August 15, 2021 for exceptional courage and remarkable presence of mind in handling a rare mid-air emergency involving the TEJAS light combat aircraft (LCA) the previous year.

On October 12, 2020, Singh, then a wing commander, was on a TEJAS test sortie when sudden loss of cockpit pressurisation at high altitude triggered some nerve-racking moments. It was a life-or-death situation but the pilot prevailed and went on to land the plane.

“There was rapid loss of altitude, with the aircraft pitching up and down viciously. Despite being in extreme physical and mental stress in a life-threatening situation, he maintained exemplary composure and regained control of the aircraft, thereby exhibiting exceptional flying skills,” the Shaurya Chakra citation said.

The President also awarded a Kirti Chakra (Posthumous), India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry medal, to Jammu and Kashmir police constable Altaf Hussain Bhat. The awards given by Kovind included 14 Shaurya Chakras (eight of them posthumous), 13 Param Vishisht Seva Medals and 29 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals for distinguished service of exceptional order.

A top-notch fighter pilot, Singh was flying in the ill-fated Russian-origin helicopter as a passenger. Rawat was on a visit to the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington to deliver a talk when the Mi-17V5 crashed near Coonoor. Singh was directing staff (air) at DSSC and the CDS’s liaison officer for the visit.