Indian Air Force Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft in February 2019 as a Wing Commander during the Balakot Airstrike in 2019, was awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday, November 22.
As the Group Captain received the honor, netizens took to various social media handles and hailed his courage and bravery.
In 2019, Abhinandan Varthaman, a Wing Commander at the time, got involved in a chase with a Pakistani fighter jet amid the aerial conflicts that were underway between Indian and Pakistan at the time, following the Pulwama attack.
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 returned to India at Wagah on 1 March 2019.
