1971 War: How Mukti Joddhas Saved An IAF Pilot

Squadron Leader Kanwal Deep Mehra's daredevilry during the 1971 War brought down a Pakistani F-86 Sabre.
But he had to bail out of his plane, was badly injured.
Then a fierce band of armed guerillas evacuated him to safety at great risk to their lives.

Fifty-three years after war broke out between India and Pakistan on December 3, 1971, leading to the liberation of East Pakistan or what is today known as Bangladesh, the valour of an Indian Air Force pilot is legendary.

Squadron Leader Kanwal Deep Mehra became a Flying Officer with the Indian Air Force in 1960, and was promoted as Flight Lieutenant in 1964.

In 1971, when he was serving as a Squadron Leader in the IAF's 14 Squadron, he became an expert Hawker Hunter F-56 fighter pilot and started to engage Pakistani targets inside East Pakistan.

On December 3, 1971, his squadron was tasked to hit the Tejgaon airfield in Dacca (now Dhaka) the next day.

Squadron Leader Mehra and Flight Lieutenant Mone took off from Kalaikunda airbase, a town in Kharagpur in West Bengal, at 7:27 am and set course for Dacca.

The daredevil flew as low as possible to avoid Pakistani radars and as both approached Dacca, they readied for attack on the airfield.

Squadron Leader Mehra and Flight Lieutenant Mone were the first to attack Dacca airfield and their bombing raid destroyed a few Sabre fighter jets.

The Pakistani forces were not far behind. In search of the pilot, they, along with Razakars (an East Pakistan paramilitary force organised by General Tikka Khan), attacked Shyampur village in Hemayetpur in East Pakistan.

21-year-old Shojib led a freedom fighter group which took part in numerous guerilla operations against the Pakistani forces in the Azimpur area of Dacca.

They were named the Azimpur Shojib Group or Y Platoon, and operated alongside the Crack platoon and other guerilla groups inside Dacca. Shojib and his guerilla fighters were trained in Bagmara, Tripura.

Meanwhile, Squadron Leader Mehra pulled up for the second attack, when two Pakistani F-86 Sabres took off and headed for Flight Lieutenant Mone.

Mehra ordered Mone to turn hard-a-port and rolled his aircraft gun on one of the Sabres and fired. The Sabre was hit, but another F-86 Sabre flew off to the Dacca airbase.

Unfortunately, in heavy anti-aircraft gun firing, Mehra's Hunter was hit and the billowing smoke entered the cockpit.

Blinded and suffocating, he ejected. His first attempt failed, but his second one was successful and his parachute opened just a few seconds before he hit the ground.

But the hurried crash landing had a deleterious effect on him and he sustained horrific physical injuries. His right hand was broken.

Meanwhile, the Hawker Hunter plummeted towards the opposite bank of the Dhaleshwari river, crashed and exploded near the Chunarchor area of Hazratpur village.

Mehra had landed on a nearby paddy field in Bhakurta village on the outskirts of Dacca and was soon surrounded by villagers who thought he was a Pakistani pilot.

Seeing the locals, Mehra thought they were Razakars and started screaming, 'Pakistan Zindabad'. This made the villagers suspicious and they thought he was a Pakistani pilot. They were about to hit him with sticks and logs, but were stopped.

IAF pilots had been warned that if they ever came in touch with Mukti Jodhas on the ground, they should welcome them with 'Joy Bangla', to which the Mukti Jodhas would say 'Jai Hind'. And that is exactly what happened.

The guerillas said 'Jai Hind', and immediately, Squadron Leader Mehra said 'Joy Bangla'.

Incidentally, during the Bangladesh War, the Indian Army fought along with the Mukti Jodhas, who for many years acted as a bridge between India and Bangladesh.

Mehra is said to have remarked about them, 'They are angels! I owe my life to them!'

The guerillas of the Shojib Group who were involved in this rescue operation were 14 in number, with Shojib as commander.

The others included Tipu, Bari, Bicchu Jalal aka Zahir Uddin Ahmed, Enam, Helal, Shobuj, Saiful, Faruq, Noyon, Khokon, Bahauddin, Khokon and Shahnewaz.

These guerillas had witnessed the dogfight in the air and followed Mehra's parachute.

They identified the IAF monogram on the left side of his shirt. Plus, Mehra showed them his moneybag, identity papers and a picture of his wife and children alongside the key of the Hawker Hunter F-56.

Meanwhile, two guerillas from the Shahbuddin group also arrived and advised Mehra to discard his pilot overalls, which they took along with his parachute. This was because they realised that the Pakistanis would soon be searching for Mehra.

Guerillas of the Shojib group decided to evacuate Squadron Leader Mehra to Indian lines.

They took clothes from the villagers and made him wear a lungi and shirt and wrapped a towel around his head, making him look like a farmer.

Suddenly, the guerillas noticed the villagers running. A Pakistani convoy was closing in from Dacca's Aricha Road.

The enemy convoy started burning homes in the village and moved forward till they were just one kilometre away from Mehra and the guerillas.

The armed guerillas kept a watchful eye on the advance even as Pakistani F-86 Sabres and IAF Hawker Hunters continued their dogfight in the skies.

The advancing Pakistani soldiers also tried to fire at the IAF jets. That very day at 11 am, an IAF jet crashed into Zinzira near Dacca after being shot down by the enemy's F-86 Sabres.

The Pakistani convoy launched their attack on the lightly armed guerillas of the Shojib group, but they managed to repel them and escape.

At first, the guerillas brought the wounded Squadron Leader Mehra to their camp at Mushurikhola-Tultoli village near Savar, Dhaka, where they administered some makeshift medical treatment.

However, Mehra was in intense pain due to his broken arm. He asked the guerillas to instead hand him over to the Pakistani army, saying that they might not be able to save him. But the guerillas promised to take him to the Indian lines as soon as possible.

On December 5, avoiding enemy detection, guerilla Bari from the Shojib group moved to Dacca to secretly find a doctor for Mehra even as dogfights were taking place near the Tezgaon airfield between the IAF and the Pakistan air force, with constant anti-aircraft guns firing at the Indian jets.

Though Bari couldn't find any doctor, he brought a medical student -- Sarwar -- who volunteered to treat Mehra.

But the Pakistani forces were not far behind. In search of the pilot, alongside with the Razakars, they attacked Shyampur village near Savar.

Realising the gravity of the situation, Shojib and his men decided to make a last desperate effort to save Mehra. They dressed him like a fisherman and sent him on a country boat half a mile away to the Bhoberchor area.

Here, one of the guerillas handed Mehra a pipe to help him breathe underwater in a pond.

Meanwhile, as the guerillas took positions, fixing booby traps with anti-personnel mines and explosives, the Razakars and the Pakistani forces arrived, burning down homes in Tultoli village.

As they came within sight, the booby traps were activated and the guerillas opened fire on them. Guerillas from the Babur group also joined Shojib and his men. However, being lightly armed, they ran out of ammunition.

Both sides now had casualties, but the Pakistani army advance was unstoppable. That is when IAF Sukhoi-7s spotted the Pakistani convoy and strafed the enemy, forcing the advance to halt. With heavy covering fire, the guerillas escaped, taking Squadron Leader Mehra as well.

The plan of the guerillas was to bypass Dacca by the rivers to the north and head out to Agartala, taking the shortest route possible.

Meanwhile, infection started setting in on Squadron Leader Mehra's broken arm.

On December 6, the guerillas reached Saidpur village. The locals and the administration helped the wounded squadron leader even as they narrated gruesome details of the Pakistani military atrocities.

The locals also garlanded Mehra for his service for the liberation of their country, shouting slogans such as 'Indira-Mujib Zindabad, Jai Hind, Joy Bangladesh'.

By December 8 morning, bypassing Dacca, the guerillas and Mehra closed in on the banks of the Meghna river. They hired country boats near Kalipur village to get them across the river, which is when they spotted three Pakistani gunboats closing in on them.

The boats had the general officer commanding of the Pakistan army 39 Ad-hoc Division, Major General Rahim Khan, Major Belal from the 3 Commando Special Services Group who had played an instrumental role in the arrest of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 25, 1971, and his men. They were escaping to Dacca after Chandpur was liberated by the Indian army.

The gunboats also contained medical crew and nurses. Even as they faced heavy fighting from the advancing Indian soldiers, the Pakistanis started their retreat towards Dacca.

Nonetheless, as the gunboats aimed their searchlights on the country boats of these poorly armed guerillas of commander Shojib, he and his men knew that there was no escape now.

They told Mehra that if the Pakistanis opened fire or even if they surrendered there was no chance of survival for them. But they said that as Mehra was an Indian pilot, the Pakistanis might spare him and treat him as per the Geneva Convention.

But Mehra, who was closest to Bicchu Jalal aka Zahir Uddin Ahmed, pointed to the sky and said: 'Jalal! My boys have come! No worry. They will blow them up!'

That is when the IAF Hawker Hunters opened fire on the gunboats. All three gunboats were destroyed with some of the Pakistanis surviving.

Most of the survivors, including the injured Major General Rahim Khan, escaped after getting to land, but some others were caught by the villagers and hacked to death.

Their bodies were dumped into the Meghna river. Amongst those killed was Major Belal, but he was given a burial.

Eventually, Shojib and his men crossed Rasulpur, Gazaria and Asmani bazaar and arrived at Chandina, a town 12 kilometres west of Comilla city.

By then, Comilla was liberated by the joint efforts of the Mukti Bahini and the Indian Army.

At Chandina, they found an Indian Army jeep and informed the occupants who they were and about Squadron Leader Mehra.

At first, the Indian soldiers and officers didn't believe that Mehra was alive, but later, Brigadier Tom (Kailash Prasad) Pandey, commander of the 61 Mountain Brigade, arrived and met the guerillas and Mehra at Chandina.

Brigadier Pandey hugged the guerillas and called them 'Azaadi Ka Bahadur'. Mehra was evacuated by an IAF helicopter to Agartala.

Before leaving, he thanked the guerillas fervently, requested them to visit him in India anytime and gave them his home address, ID card, photograph and the key of the Hawker Hunter he had flown.

About Sarwar, the Dacca Medical college student who came to treat the wounded Mehra, this is what he said, 'His attendance on me day and night was full of affection and I, an invalid, could not have been in safer hands.'

About the guerillas of the Shojib group who saved his life, Mehra said, 'To Shojib and Sarwar and all others of the Mukti Bahini it mattered little that I was a Hindu or a Musalman. They have given me a precious new life. If need be, when I get well, I shall fly again and contribute my mite to Bangladesh, Shojib and Sarwar's dear motherland. I look forward to meeting them again!'

Unfortunately, he lost his right arm as it had to be amputated. He took medical retirement from the Indian Air Force and passed away in 2012.

Flight Lieutenant J C Malik from the Indian Air Force was the first to unravel this extraordinary story, followed by extensive efforts of guerilla fighter Bicchu Jalal to speak about this incident in Bangladesh.

Bicchu Jalal and his commander Shojib are still alive and want to invite Bharat Mehra, Squadron Leader Kanwal Deep Mehra's son to Dhaka to honour him for his father's sacrifices in Bangladesh's Liberation war.

• When My Dad Trained The Mukti Bahini

Edited by Shobha John
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com