IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman walks free after 3 days in captivity

New Delhi: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the Indian Air Force, who had ejected into Pakistan after his MiG-21 fighter jet had got hit on Wednesday morning, walked back into India across the Wagah-Attari border late on Friday evening, sending a wave of joy across the country.

He was handed over to the BSF at around 9.20 pm by the Pakistani Rangers.

Initially, Wg Cdr Varthaman was expected to  be released at 5.30 pm, but finally emerged at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side at only at 9.10 pm, accompanied by the Indian air attaché posted at the high commission in Islamabad and the director (India) at the Pakistan foreign office, Dr Fareha Bugti.

“Wing Commander Abhinandan has just been handed over to us. He will be taken now for a detailed medical checkup. This checkup is mandatory as he had to eject from an aircraft which would have put his entire body under stress,” Air Vice-Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor, assistant chief of air staff, told reporters in a brief statement.

After the checkup, the IAF plans to fly him to New Delhi. Wg Cdr Varthaman’s family is in Delhi. “As per process he will meet his family for a brief period and then will be taken for debriefing,” sources had said during the day.