A General Court Martial (GCM) in New Delhi has ordered the dismissal of Indian Air Force Group Captain Suman Roy Chaudhary.
According to Indian media reports, the said officer was posted as Chief Operations Officer at Srinagar Air Force Station.
On February 27, 2019, the Indian Air Force fired a missile at its own Mi-17 helicopter, killing six Air Force officers and a civilian.
Air Force officials say the court-martial investigation and order are yet to be ratified by the Chief of Air Staff.
On 20 March 2023, the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed the General Court Martial to issue an inquiry against Group Captain Suman Chaudhry, but stayed its execution until the court case was over.
According to the Indian newspaper, the case is yet to be concluded in the High Court.
Group Captain Suman Chaudhary has been found guilty of 5 of the 9 charges.
On 14 July 2017, the High Command had issued an order that all aircraft flying at a certain angle ‘North of Latitude 3200 N’ would have to fly with their identification, Group Captain Suman Chaudhary had defied this order.
He allowed the Mi-17 helicopter to take off from Srinagar without any identification on the helicopter.
Group Captain Suman Chaudhary gave permission for the Mi-17 helicopter to fly towards the missile unit at 10:10 am on 27 February 2019, 23 km from the Srinagar base.
This helicopter was shot down by the Indian Air Force’s Spider missile at 10:14.
The loss due to the helicopter crash has been estimated at Rs 133.31 crore.
Wing Commander Shyam Nithani, then a senior air traffic control officer, has been acquitted of four charges and given a stern warning in one charge.
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