IAF’s Wing Commander Abhinandan Posted To Suratgarh Air Force Base In Rajasthan Equipped With MiG-21 Bison

The Indian Air Force fighter pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by the Pakistan Army on 27 February and kept in captivity for 60 hours before handing him over to India, has been posted by the IAF at its base at Suratgarh in Rajasthan, reports Times of India.

The report cited local sources as saying that Wing Commander Abhinandan has joined the IAF base at Sutargarh on Saturday (11 May).

According to the report, the Suratgarh Air Force Base has MiG-21 Bison aircrafts. It is believed that Wing Commander Abhinandan took over his assigned duties in Suratgarh on Saturday (11 May). As per the report, this is not the first time that the Abhinandan would be serving in Rajasthan as he had earlier served a tenure at the Bikaner air base in the state.

The IAF has not confirmed about the current posting of Wing Commander. An IAF official was quoted in the report as saying that all defence postings are confidential and the only detail he can confirm is that Abhinandan is posted in Rajasthan.

However, it is unclear at the moment whether Wing Commander Abhinandan will be allowed to resume flying again since as per protocol, a pilot is grounded once she/he ejects the aircraft.

Just a few days ago a video of the Wing Commander had surfaced in which he could be seen interacting and rejoicing with defence personnel in Jammu and Kashmir.

Abhinandan was captured by the Pakistani army on 27 February after his MiG-21 Bison jet was shot down in a dogfight with Pakistani jets during an aerial combat. He took down an F-16 fighter plane of Pakistan Air Force before his jet was hit.