New Delhi: All those responsible for the death of 6 IAF personnel on board a military helicopter, which was accidentally shot down at the height of India-Pakistan tension in February, will be charged for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, according to reports.
The IAF is yet to officially acknowledge reasons for the Mi-17 helicopter’s crash, the day Pakistan Air Force fighter jets attempted to cross the Line of Control (LoC). But reports suggest that it was shot down in friendly fire by IAF’s own air defence missile.
The Court of Inquiry into the incident is yet to be completed. The IAF maintains that the investigation is still on but multiple reports indicate that there was a lapse in following the Standard Operating Procedures.
A report said that the officer commanding the Srinagar air base, where the crash took place, has been removed. Between 10 and 10:30 am on the morning of February 27, eight Indian Air Force fighters were ordered to intercept up to 24 Pakistan Air Force fighters which had crossed the Line of Control.
With an active air battle raging in the skies, surface-to-air missile units were on high alert and ready to engage any Pakistani aircraft. It was at this same time that air defence radars at Srinagar airport picked up a low flying aircraft on their screens.
The senior officer manning the post of Terminal Weapons Director (TWD) at the time was likely the Chief Operations Officer of the Air Base. IAF sources told NDTV that the entire shoot-down sequence from the moment the missile was launched to the moment of impact lasted approximately 12 seconds. The helicopter had no means of knowing it was under attack.