The Madhya Pradesh Government has decided to auction off its Bell-430 helicopter, which crashed in 2002, for Rs 2.57 crore to the highest bidder, an official announced.

Purchased in 1998, the helicopter crashed on February 21, 2002, in a field near Vijay Nagar in Indore while transporting Bollywood singer Anuradha Paudwal to a government event. Paudwal sustained minor injuries, while an accompanying official was seriously injured.

The decision to sell the helicopter to the highest bidder, who offered Rs 2,57,17,777 in response to an e-tender, was made at a cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, according to a government official.

Following the crash in 2002, the helicopter was repaired. However, as the manufacturer has discontinued the Bell-430 model and the chopper is no longer airworthy, the government has opted to sell it.

In the 2002 accident, Rajendra Singh Raghuvanshi, personal assistant to the then Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, sustained serious injuries. Raghuvanshi recounted that he was accompanying Paudwal to a government event near Biaora, with MP Congress chief Radhakishan Malviya also onboard, when the helicopter crashed on the outskirts of Indore city.