IAF officer killed in crash gets Shaurya Chakra
HT Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Group Captain Varun Singh, who died after suffering serious injuries in the chief of defence staff (CDS) chopper crash last December, was on Tuesday posthumously awarded Shaurya Chakra, the country’s third-highest peacetime gallantry medal, by President Ram Nath Kovind for a previous act of valour. His wife Geetanjali Singh and mother Uma Singh received the award.
Singh was the only man to have survived the December 8 MI-17V5 chopper crash that killed 13 people including CDS General Bipin
Rawat, but he died of his injuries after putting up a week-long fight against death.
The government announced the Shaurya Chakra for Singh on August 15, 2021 for exceptional courage and remarkable presence of mind in handling a rare mid-air emergency involving the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) the previous year.
On October 12, 2020, Singh, then a wing commander, was on an LCA test sortie when sudden loss of cockpit pressurisation at high altitude triggered some nerve-racking moments. It was a life-or-death situation but the pilot prevailed and went on to land the plane.
“There was rapid loss of altitude, with the aircraft pitching up and down viciously. Despite being in extreme physical and mental stress in a life-threatening situation, he maintained exemplary composure and regained control of the aircraft, thereby exhibiting exceptional flying skills,” the Shaurya Chakra citation said.
The President also awarded a Kirti Chakra (Posthumous), India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry medal, to Jammu and Kashmir police constable Altaf Hussain Bhat. The awards given by Kovind included 14 Shaurya Chakras (eight of them posthumous), 13 Param Vishisht Seva Medals and 29 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals for distinguished service of exceptional order.