Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday promoted ace pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to the rank of Group Captain. The officer was awarded a Shaurya Chakra for his role in the 2019 February airstrike on terrorist camps in Pakistan.
Abhinandan Varthaman has been cleared for promotion to the rank of Group Captain by the IAF and he would be putting on his new rank shortly, sources told news agency ANI.
Group Captain is equivalent to a Colonel in the Indian Army.
The officer's MiG-21 fighter aircraft was shot down after he took down the F-16 and landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), but was taken captive by the Pakistan Army after his plane was shot down by enemy forces.
Due to the extensive pressure exerted by the Indian side along with the international intervention into the matter, the Pakistan Army was forced to release Abhinandan.
He was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to thwart an aerial attack launched by the Pakistanis on February 27, 2019.
India had launched an aerial strike on Pakistan's terrorist facility in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area run by the Jaish e Mohammed.
(with ANI inputs)
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