Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down Pakistani F-16, receives Vir Chakra

New Delhi, Nov 22: Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet during an aerial dogfight over the Line of Control (LoC) on February 27, 2019, awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind in an investiture ceremony.

He was awarded Vir Chakra on Independence Day 2019. The fighter pilot is currently posted in the North-east.

Vir Chakra is is India's third-highest wartime gallantry award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards and comes after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra.

The dogfight in which Abhinandan was involved took place a day after the Indian Air Force's Mirage-2000s struck targets in Pakistan's Balakot in response to the Pulwama suicide attack in Kashmir in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed on February 14, 2019. Abhinandan was a wing commander then, equivalent to a lieutenant colonel in the army.