NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
A Correspondent in New Delhi
Air Marshal Vinod Bhatia, chief of Western Air Command, who flew his AN-32 into Pakistan territory and got fired at on February 19, has been transferred.
The government on Wednesday evening approved his transfer as inspector general at the Air Headquarters. An IAF spokesman said Air Marshal Bhatia would "continue to maintain his commander-in-chief status."
Air Marshal Bhatia was investigated by Air Marshal M S Sekhon, who was then heading Southern Air Command, after Bhatia's An-32, on its way to Kargil, was fired upon by Pakistani troops.
Sekhon subsequently had to quit service a few days after he completed the inquiry, after a letter that he wrote to then Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal seeking favours surfaced mysteriously.
Bhatia's transfer downgrades his status from being the chief of India's most crucial air command to a glorified clerical office in the headquarters.
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
