Jammu: Videos of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in Pakistan custody is being circulating on the social media and security officials have urged the people not share to them as they were released by Pakistan to demoralise the forces and people.
“Please don’t ask us to share the videos of Wing Commander Abhinandan. We will not share his videos and are requesting you to please don’t share videos and photos of the pilot. Don’t fall into Pakistan propaganda trap of trolls,” an Indian Military Updates said. Following this, netizens also started forwarding the message “Don’t share videos of the pilot,” which went viral.
Even as the people took to social media to vent their anger against the capture of the IAF pilot, Indian security officials alleged that the five videos shot by Pakistani army and released on WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were part of a psychological operation against the country and netizens must stop sharing them.
After a fierce engagement between the two air forces yesterday, the wing commander ejected safely from his MiG 21 Bison aircraft but landed across the Line of Control and was taken into custody by Pakistani army.
“In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have, unfortunately, lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts,” said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.
The Pakistan who had stated it had two Indian pilots in it’s custody later retracted and said “There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army’s custody. Wing Comd Abhinandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics.”
Followed by this, videos showing a bruised, battered and bleeding Abhinandan were circulated online. He, however, seemed calm and composed.