A General Court Martial (GCM) instituted by the Indian Air Force has ordered the sacking of Group Captain Suman Roy Chowdhury, then Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Srinagar Air Force Station, for the crash of a Mi-17 V5 helicopter in Budgam, on February 27, 2019.
The helicopter crashed after the IAF's own surface-to-air missile struck it as it was on its way back to Srinagar, following the dogfight between IAF and PAF.
Six IAF personnel on board the chopper and a civilian on the ground were killed in the crash.?
Those who died included pilots Squadron Leader S Vashisht and Squadron Leader Ninand M, Sergeant VK Pandey, Sergeant Vikrant Sahrawat, Corporal Pankaj Kumar, Corporal D Pandey, and Kifayat Hussain Ganie, a civilian.
On February 27, 2019, a day after India carried out the surgical strike inside PoK, PAF fighter jets crossed the LOC into India's air space, leading to an unprecedented dogfight.?
During the showdown, then Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman (now Group Captain) shot down a PAF F-16 jet before his MiG-21 Bison aircraft was also hit, and he ejected and landed in PoK.
Following the downing of the Mi-17, a Court of Inquiry (CoI) was set up to probe the incident.
The CoI into the incident found that a ground-based missile hit the Mi-17 V-5 helicopter.
The probe had found that the 'Identification of Friend or Foe' (IFF) system on board the helicopter was switched off, and there were "vital gaps" in communication and coordination between the ground staff and the chopper crew.
It also found violations of standard operating procedures. The IFF helps air defence radars identify whether an aircraft or helicopter is friendly or hostile.
Based on the findings, the GCM held Group Captain Chowdhury guilty of not following laid down norms, especially orders issued by the Air Headquarters on IFF and recommended his dismissal.
He was held guilty on five of the nine charges, and Wing Commander Shyam Naithani, who was the Senior Air Traffic Control Officer at the time of the incident, also faced the CoI. He was acquitted of four charges and has got a severe reprimand for one charge.
While the GCM has ordered the dismissal of Group Captain Chowdhury, as per norms, the Chief of Air Staff has to approve the recommendation.
Earlier, on March 20, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had allowed the GCM to pronounce the findings against Group Captain Chowdhury but ordered that these must not be given effect till the disposal of the case before it.
Due to this, the IAF can only act on the GCM's recommendation after the court gives its verdict.
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