Indian Air Force Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman conferred Vir Chakra for Balakot Airstrike

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday honored Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman of the Indian Air Force with the Vir Chakra. Wing Commander (then) Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down a Pakistani Air Force's F-16 fighter jet a day after the Balakot airstrike, was promoted this month. The announcement of conferring Vir Chakra to Abhinandan had already been made. Earlier, he has been awarded the Shaurya Chakra for preventing Pakistani air infiltration.

Vir Chakra to Abhinandan Varthaman:

Apart from Abhinandan, Sapper Prakash Jadhav was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra. He was given the award for his role in the operation to eliminate terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. President Kovind handed over the award to his wife and mother. At the same time, Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal was also awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously. He was given this award for his role in the operation to kill five terrorists and recover 200 kg of explosives.

LIVE: President Kovind presents Gallantry Awards at Defence Investiture Ceremony-I at Rashtrapati Bhavan https://t.co/ZsKDxtJx18

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 22, 2021

A suicide bomber of Pakistan's Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist organization attacked a CRPF convoy in Pulwama district on February 14, 2019, in which 40 jawans were martyred. After this, on 26 February, India carried out an airstrike on the training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot. During this, on February 27, Abhinandan played a big role in sending back Pakistan's F-16 fighter aircraft moving towards the LoC.

Super Hero of India: Abhinandan Varthaman

Wing Commander Abhinandan's MiG-21 Bison plane crashed while dogfighting with a Pakistani F-16 aircraft and he reached the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) border, where he had made a parasuit landing. The people of Pakistan had attacked him. Later, Commander Abhinandan was captured by Pakistani soldiers and he released a video of Abhinandan, in which he was seen blindfolded and covered in blood. Two days later, on 1 March 2019, Pakistan handed him over to India.

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