Falcon Slayer Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman awarded Vir Chakra

Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down Pakistan's fighter jet F-16 or 'Fighting Falcon' has been honoured for his bravery. President Ram Nath Kovind honored Abhinandan with the Vir Chakra.

After the heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama attack, Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman (then Wing Commander) shot down an F-16 fighter jet in the air battle. However, his Mig-21 which was much inferior to the F-16s was shot down and he had ejected across the Line of Control (LoC).

Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman was later captured by the Pakistani Army and was tortured with the marks clearly visible on his face.

What happened on 27^th February 2019

On the fateful day of 14^th February, Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) attacked a CRPF convoy with a suicide bomber in Pulwama, killing 40 Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF) soldiers. Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked shortly after the attack.

In reaction, India launched an early-morning attack on a JeM terror camp in Balakot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 26^th February 2019. This was followed by 24 Pakistan Air Force fighters crossing the Line of Control (LoC) into Indian airspace and dropped bombs on the Indian territory, the very next day.

The Indian Air Force scrambled its interceptor aircraft, the Mig-21 Bisons. In an air battle, then Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistani Airforce before being taken down by AMRAAM missile.

After his MiG-21 Bison was hit by Pakistani fire across the Line of Control he was captured. Pakistan published a video of the Pakistan Army serving tea to Abhinandan shortly after he was apprehended, in an attempt to portray their civility towards him. However, his bruised look revealed the torture he had to undergo and could not be covered up.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan declared Abhinandan's release as a "peace gesture" after two days after he was apprehended under immense diplomatic pressure.