IAF Sacks 3 Officers Found Responsible for Accidentally Firing Brahmos Missile

An unarmed Brahmos had landed in Pakistan's territory on 9 March.

BrahMos missiles. Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo: The Quint)

The Indian Air Force on Tuesday, 23 August, said that it has found three officers responsible for accidental firing of Brahmos missile which landed in Pakistan on 9 March.

The officers have been terminated from their services by the Central government with immediate effect.

The terminated officers include a Group Captain, a Wing Commander and a Squadron Leader.

The court found deviation from Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by three officers, which led to the accidental firing of Brahmos missile, officials were quoted as saying.

"A BrahMos missile was accidentally fired on 9 March. 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," an official statement said.

"Their service have been terminated by the central government with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on August 23," the statement added.

What Had Happened?

An unarmed Indian supersonic missile had entered Pakistan's territory on 9 March, causing damage to the country's civilian property. The object had later hit a private cold storage property near Mian Channu city in the Punjab province. The accident, however, did not lead to any loss of life.

Following the incident, the India's Defence Ministry said that the missile was "accidentally fired" after a technical malfunction during routine maintenance. It further added that a high-level court of enquiry had been ordered to probe the incident.

(With inputs from PTI.)