The officer held responsible for the accidental shooting down of a military helicopter at the height of India-Pakistan tension in February will be charged by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder along with three others, according to reports.
The IAF is yet to officially acknowledge reasons for theMi-17 helicopter’s crash on 27 February, the day Pakistan Air Force (PAF)fighter jets attempted to cross the Line of Control (LoC). But reports suggestthat it was shot down in a friendly fire by IAF’s own air defence missile.
The Court of Inquiry into the incident killing all sixonboard is yet to be completed.
The IAF maintains that the investigation was still going onbut multiple reports indicate that there was a lapse in following the StandardOperating Procedures.
The report said that the officer who was presiding overoperations will face charges of culpable homicide, a criminal offence.The incident had occurred in central Kashmir’sBudgam district when IAF jets had engaged intruding PAF fighters over the LoC aday after IAF jets carried out airstrikes in Balakot.