In an admission that may embarrass the union government, the new IAF chief Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria accepted on Friday that shooting down the Indian chopper in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year was a “big mistake.”
An Mi17 V5 chopper was shot down at Budgam near Srinagar on February 27. It was just a day after the Indian Air Force said that its fighters had crossed over into Pakistani territory and targeted a terror camp at Balakot, following the terror attack on CRPF convoy that killed 40 troopers.
The chopper downing led to the death of six IAF personnel and a civilian.
"It was a big mistake on our part. We accept it," the new Air Chief said. The IAF Boss added that a Court of inquiry was initiated and was completed last week.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria added, “Our missile hit (the helicopter). This has been established. Administrative action and disciplinary action is being taken. Necessary steps are being taken so such incidents don't repeat."
A court of inquiry found the chopper was brought down by friendly fire emanating from the Spyder air defence missile system which was located at the Srinagar air base.
The inquiry also found that the officers who handled the air defence system mistook the helicopter for an incoming missile. The helicopter crashed just 10 minutes after it took off. The chopper broke in two parts and caught fire.
The incident took place in the aftermath of heightened tension followed by heavy shelling between India and Pakistan following the Balakot strike. The Balakot attack was India's response to the Pulwama attack on February 14.
The Indian Air Force had carried out air strikes on terrorist camps across the Line of Control (LoC) early on February 27, several reports had stated. The targets, reports state, were Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist camps in Balakot, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad. While Balakot is located in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad are located in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir.