Tawqeer Hussain
Central government on Tuesday sacked three officers of the Indian Air Force for the March 9 accidental firing of a Brahmos missile that landed in Pakistan.
According to the official statement, “Services of the officers were terminated after a Court of Inquiry (CoI) found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by them led to the accidental firing of the missile”.
Following the incident, the Defence Ministry described it as “deeply regrettable” while Pakistan lodged a strong protest over it.
“A BrahMos missile was accidentally fired on March 9. A Court of Inquiry (Col), set up to establish the facts of the case, including fixing responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile,” the statement said.
“These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the central government with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on August 23,” it said.
Though the Indian Air Force did not mention the ranks and names of the officials whose services have been terminated, it is learnt that a Group Captain is among the three.
Pakistan had lodged its strong protest with India about the incident.
(With Inputs from PTI)
