Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft in February 2019 as a Wing Commander, has been awarded the Vir Chakra for his service today in an investiture ceremony by Indian President Ram Nath Kovind.
In 2019, when Abhinandan Varthaman was a Wing Commander, he got involved in a ruthless battle with a Pakistani fighter jet amid the aerial conflicts that were underway between Indian and Pakistan at the time, following the Pulwama attack.
Amid the fight between the two fighter planes, Abhinandan Varthaman brought down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet in aerial combat, after which his aircraft was shot down by the Pakistani Air Force. He had landed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and was taken into custody by the Pakistani Army.
He was subsequently released after New Delhi mounted diplomatic pressure on Islamabad.
Abhinandan was part of the Srinagar-based 51 squadron and had flown to thwart an aerial attack launched by the Pakistanis on February 27, 2019.