Air Marshal Chief Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, on the 4th of October, confirmed 6 Indian Air Force (IAF) officers mistakenly fired on an Indian chopper.
According to sources, the IAF officers fired a surface to air missile at the Mi 17 V5 chopper after the Balakot airstrike. The airstrike was carried out by the IAF on the 26th of February 2019 to destroy the Jaish e Mohammed (JeM) camps in Balakot.
Squadron Leader Siddharth Vashisht, Squadron Leader Ninad Mandavgane, Kumar Pandey, Sergeant Vikrant Sehrawat, Corporals Deepak Pandey and Pankaj Kumar were accused of firing on the chopper.
The chopper crashed on the 27th of February, in Budgam, Kashmir, 10 minutes after taking off. Six IAF personnel who were in the chopper and a civilian on the ground were killed due to the crash.
Mr. Bhadouria said, “It has been established that the helicopter was hit by our own missile. We have already taken administrative action. Disciplinary action is being taken against two officers. We admit that it was a big mistake and necessary steps have been taken so that such an incident does not recur.”
The IAF took action against the 6 officers, including two senior officers and started an investigation for the same.
Stay tuned for further updates.
