The probe into the helicopter crash that killed former Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and 12 others may take a few more weeks and the court of inquiry would be a thorough process, Chief of Air Staff V.R. Chaudhari said on Saturday.
He said that he would not like to pre-empt any of the findings of the court of inquiry since it is a thorough process. “The mandate given to him (Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, the investigating officer) is to investigate every single angle and look into every single aspect of what could have gone wrong and come out with the suitable recommendations and findings,” he said while addressing the media after reviewing the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal here.
“I would recommend that I do not make any announcement in haste about what could have been the cause or what are the remedial actions that we are going to institute,” he said. “So, we will just have to wait for a few more weeks till the court of inquiry is completed. Let me assure you that it is a very, very fair process, the entire court of inquiry,” the Air Chief Marshal said, expressing grief over the demise of General Rawat and others.
Asked if procedures concerning flying by VVIPs are being reviewed especially after the Mi-17 chopper crash, he said all the procedures would be reviewed based on the findings of the inquiry.
Further, he said that the Air Force is continuing deployment as the stand-off with China is persisting and that the Force is ready to enhance the presence of troops if the need arises. “Disengagement has taken place in certain areas in Eastern Ladakh. But, the complete disengagement has not yet been done. I would not like to go into the details, but suffice to say we are deployed, we are prepared to take on any challenge that may face us in that area with the shortest of notice,” the top IAF officer said.
Status quo with regard to the deployment of forces in the region continues at the same level as April last, following the Galwan incident, he said.
The IAF is continuously evaluating the threats, CAS Chaudhari said when asked if a scenario of two-front war can be seen in the near future in view of the threat from Pakistan, apart from China.
Further, he said that three of the remaining four aircraft would be delivered in February and the last aircraft, to which India-specific enhancements are being made, would be delivered after its due trials are completed.
