According to a report published in Tribune India, a General Court Martial (GCM) in India has ordered the dismissal of an Indian Air Force (IAF) group commander for a friendly missile attack on a Mi-17 helicopter in February 2019.
During a “routine mission” on February 27, 2019, an Indian Mi-17 helicopter crashed, killing seven persons, including IAF personnel.
The incident occurred roughly at the same time and on the same day as Pakistan Air Force (PAF) strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) from Pakistani airspace as part of Operation Swift Retaliation in response to India’s violation of the border and attack on Balakot.
The GCM reportedly ordered the dismissal of group captain Suman Roy Chowdhury, who was the IAF’s principal operations officer at the Srinagar Air Force station at the time of the friendly missile attack, according to a report published by Tribune India on Monday.
According to the report, Chowdhury was found guilty of five of the nine charges. In addition, he was found culpable of disobeying the general order issued by the air headquarters. Because he allowed the Mi-17 to take off from Srinagar without the “Friend or Foe” indicator.
On February 27, 2019, he was also found guilty of designating an incoming flying object to the missile unit. Thus, a Spyder missile downed a friendly Mi-17 helicopter at 10:14 a.m. The error cost the state Rs133.31 billion, according to the report.
Wing Commander Shyam Naithani, the senior air traffic control officer at the time of the incident, was acquitted of four accusations and received “a severe reprimand for one charge,” according to the report.
More than 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers were slain in an attack on occupied Kashmir’s Pulwama on February 14, 2019. Which was the epicenter of the Pakistan-India escalation.
Explosives packed inside a van ripped through buses in a convoy of 78 vehicles transporting approximately 2,500 members of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force, surpassing an attack in 2016 in which 19 soldiers were killed.
Twenty kilometers from the main city of Srinagar on the highway leading to Jammu, two blue buses transporting approximately 35 passengers each bore the brunt of the explosion.
Next day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a “strong response” to the Pulwama assault.
He told Hindustan Times that “blood of the people is boiling” and that terrorists would be punished.
Modi did not name Pakistan, but went on to state, “If our neighbor, which is isolated in the world and believes it can destabilize India through its tactics and conspiracies, it is making a grave error.”
The situation escalated after Indian military aircraft violated the Line of Control and infiltrated the Muzaffarabad sector. According to an ISPR statement, “Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled,” and Indian aircraft returned to their bases.
Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft had violated Pakistani airspace for the second day in a row. One of their aircraft dropped payloads in Balakot before being pursued early in the morning. The Pakistani military spokesman then threatened India with a “surprise” in response to the IAF’s aggression.
After PAF strikes on the other side of the LoC from Pakistani airspace, the IAF aircraft entered Pakistani airspace the following day to demonstrate Pakistan’s “right, will, and capability for self-defense,” as described by the Foreign Office and Army.
The PAF operations across the LoC were initially announced via a tweet by former FO spokesman Dr. Mohammad Faisal. “The PAF launched attacks across the LoC from Pakistani airspace. This action served only to demonstrate our right, willingness, and capacity for self-defense. We do not desire to escalate, but we are ready to do so if compelled,” he had tweeted.
Shortly thereafter, the then-military spokesman for Pakistan, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor announced the downing of IAF aircraft. After the PAF attacks in occupied Kashmir, he tweeted, “IAF crossed LoC.”
“The Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian aircraft in Pakistani airspace.” One of the aircraft crashed in AJK, while the other crashed in IOK. One Indian pilot was arrested by ground troops, while two others were in the vicinity, he had stated.
Abhinandan Varthaman was the captured Indian aviator. He was promptly returned to India as a gesture of goodwill.
