Retired IAF sergeant alleges another officer given Gallantry award for his act of bravery

Speaking to ETV Bharat about the matter, Sergeant Ghanshyam Singh from Jodhpur said although he was not expecting to be presented with the gallantry award, he was disappointed that someone else was given the credit for what he did at the expense of risking his own life.

Jodhpur: Like every year, the Government of India presented the Gallantry Award to eight officers of the Indian Air Force on the occasion of 75th Independence Day. One of these eight officers was Lieutenant D. Ravindra Rao, who was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for saving the life of a pilot during an accident at the Agra airbase on November 6, 2021.

However, Sergeant Ghanshyam Singh, now retired, from Jodhpur, who was also posted at the Agra Airbase on that day, has claimed that Rao has been wrongly awarded for the work that should rightfully be attributed to him. Speaking to ETV Bharat about the matter, Singh said although he was not expecting to be awarded the gallantry award, he was disappointed that someone else was given the credit for what he did at the expense of risking his own life.

Narrating the incident, Singh said that on November 6, 2021, one of the three Jaguar aircraft overturned during landing at the Agra airbase at around 12:30 pm. Singh, who was posted on the Crash Fire Tender in Rescue-1 in the morning shift during the accident, ran towards the runway with permission from the ATC after he saw the accident.

Fearing that the crashed aircraft might catch fire, he started pouring foam on it. He further said that he believed the pilot had already rescued himself from the aircraft until he noticed some movement in the cockpit. As he approached to get a closer look, he realized that the pilot was badly injured and hanging upside down from the ejection seat.

Distressed that the aircraft might catch fire any moment and kill the pilot, Singh decided to prioritize freeing him from his seat. As he was doing so, he realized there was a gas leak and the aircraft might soon explode. He continued to put his best efforts to get the pilot out safely. Just when the pilot was almost freed from his seat, Flight Lieutenant D Ravindra Rao also intervened and offered help.

While the pilot still needed to be taken out safely from the aircraft, a gas leak started filling up the cockpit. Scared that the aircraft may explode, everyone, including Lieutenant D Ravindra Rao, backed away. Singh said he, however, stayed put and managed to get both himself and the pilot out of the aircraft alive. Though he had lost consciousness by the time he reached a safe distance from the aircraft, he regained it soon and called an ambulance for the injured pilot.

However, he claims that all these actions have been attributed to Lieutenant D Ravindra Rao for which he has been presented the gallantry award. Sergeant Singh was felicitated by officers at the Agra airbase and his entire team was honored at a local level for his achievement. Singh says he has videos and documents that support his claims, which he has made viral on social media over the past few days.

After he uploaded them, several retired soldiers came forward in Singh's support. However, the Air Force has not reacted to the matter so far. Singh now plans on reaching out to the Prime Minister, President as well as Defense Minister in the matter.