Bhopal, Mar 16 (IANS): The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday provided ex-gratia of Rs 1 cr to the family of martyr Jitendra Singh Verma, who had died along with India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8, 2021.

The family of the martyr was invited by the state government to the Assembly on Wednesday, during which chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan handed over a cheque of Rs one crore as ex-gratia.

The 32-year-old Lance Nayak Jitendra Kumar Verma of Dhamanda village of Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh was the PSO of CDS Bipin Rawat. An announcement about the ex-gratia was made by chief minister Chouhan during a visit to the martyr's village to pay homage.

General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 others including officers and soldiers were on board the M-17 helicopter that crashed in Kunnur area in Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu because of foggy weather.

Jitendra Verma, who joined the Army in 2011, was the son of Shivraj Singh Verma and Dhapi Bai. He was married in 2014 and had a one and a half year old son and a four year old daughter.