Former Army Chief General Sundararajan Padmanabhan died in Chennai, played a big role in eliminating terrorists in Kashmir

Former Army Chief General Sundararajan Padmanabhan died in Chennai. He was 83 years old. He was affectionately known as 'Paddy' in military circles. He was the Chief of Army Staff from 30 September 2000 to 31 December 2002. General Padmanabhan is survived by his wife, daughter, and son. His children are returning from America. General Padmanabhan's last rites will be performed on Tuesday evening.

Before you went to the prestigious NDC course in Delhi, Gen Padmanabhan had commanded an independent brigade and a mountain brigade. He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for his services as 15 Corps Commander.

Born on 5 December 1940, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, he was an alumnus of the prestigious Indian Military College, Dehradun, and the National Defence Academy, Pune. Gen Padmanabhan commanded an Infantry Brigade at Ranchi and Punjab from 1988 to February 1991.

After promotion to the rank of Lt Gen, he was the Commander of 15 Corps in Kashmir Valley from July 1993 to February 1995. It is during his tenure that the Army gained majorly over terrorists in Kashmir. He retired on December 31, 2002, after completing over 43 years of distinguished military service.