President confers Vir Chakra on Abhinandan Varthaman
The Hindu
The citation read out at the ceremony said a large force of the Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft, consisting of advanced fourth-generation F-16 and JF-17, was detected heading toward the Line of Control (LOC) at around 9:55 am that day.
Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who downed an enemy jet during an aerial combat with Pakistan in 2019 and was held captive for three days in that country, was on Monday honoured with the Vir Chakra award by President Ram Nath Kovind.
The fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force has been decorated with India’s third-highest wartime gallantry medal for displaying an “exceptional sense of duty” during the dogfight, the award citation said.
The award ceremony, held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and several other dignitaries. Several other military officers were also honoured at the event.