Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has reportedly told the IAF officials that he was forced to go through a lot of mental harassment Pakistanis while he was in Pakistan’s custody, news agency ANI quoted sources as saying. Abhinandan Varthaman was in Pakistani Army’s custody for around 58 hours after his MiG 21 was knocked down during close combat with a Pakistani F-16 fighter plane on Wednesday.
The aerial fight happened in Pakistani airspace after Indian fighter jets were scrambled to react immediately against scores of Pakistani fighter jets violating Indian airspace with an intent to assault Indian military installations.
Before ejecting from his severely damaged MiG 21, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman deftly managed to shoot down Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jet with nerves of steel. Abhinandan then landed in Pakistani territory but was caught initially and beaten up by some locals before two Pakistani army soldiers interrupted the scene only to take him into their custody.
After spending more than two days in Pak Army’s custody, Wing Commander was released to India late on Friday night. He has received a grand welcome from scores of people who reached Wagah-Attari border from across the nation. After his return to India, he was taken to Delhi overnight post preliminary examination. He is currently being kept under medical observation at the Air Force Central Medical Establishment at Subroto Park in Delhi.
Upon reaching the national capital, he met his family for a couple of minutes before being taken for a medical checkup and counselling. He was accompanied by Indian Air Force chief Air Marshal BS Dhanoa early on Saturday morning and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman later in the day.
Before he can get back to full swing inside the fighter jet, Wing Commander Abhinandan will have to go through a fitness checkup which will continue for a few days. The top-most priority as per air force sources is to bring the commander’s health back to normal.
