IAF Pilot Abhinandan Varthaman Raised Patriotic Slogans, Swallowed Documents Before Being Captured: Report

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who is in Pakistan custody raised patriotic slogans, fired in the air and stuffed his mouth with the documents when he landed on Pakistan, reports Hindustan Times.

The HT quoted a headman of the village from the other side of the border say. The IAF pilot aboard MiG-21 who engaged a Pakistan F-16 was shot down on Wednesday (27 February).

HT quoted the Mohammad Razzaq Chaudhry, the chief of Horran village in Pakistan, speaking to BBC that he rushed to the spot along with other villagers when he saw the MiG-21 crashing.

Wing Commander Vardaman's first question on landing, Chaudhry says, was whether he was in India. Chaudhry also disclosed that the pilot was pelted with stones and even shot in the leg.

“I saw the Indian flag on his parachute and knew he was Indian,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying.

The 58-year-old eyewitness said that the surrounding crowd tried to mislead the pilot into believing he was in Indian territory, in response, Varthaman reportedly shouted patriotic slogans about India, however, “The boys around him responded by saying, ‘Long live Pakistan’!” Chaudhry told the BBC.

Wing Commander Varthaman reportedly pulled out his gun and fired in the air to intimidate them. The move led to more hostility, and the villagers began pelting stones at the IAF pilot.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had yesterday (28 February) announced in the parliament that the pilot under custody would be released to India today (1 March).