What Protocols India Has to Follow After Abhinandan’s Return

Soon after he entered India, Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor said he would now be taken for a detailed medical checkup.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was handed over to the Indian authorities by Pakistan on Friday, 1 March, after being held captive for more than two days.

(Photo: The Quint)

Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was handed over to the Indian authorities by Pakistan on Friday, 1 March, after being held captive for more than two days.

Soon after he crossed the Attari-Wagah border, Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor told the media that he will be taken for a “detailed” medical checkup.

This is mandatory as the pilot had to eject from an aircraft. And that would have put his body under enormous pressure.

Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor

Varthaman was held captive by Pakistan after his MIG-21 Bison took a hit while intercepting Pakistani F-16 aircraft.

What Are the Protocols?

Upon his return, India is expected to follow a number of protocols and procedures before he can return to normal life.

The Quint talked to Senior Defence Expert Manoj Joshi, who confirmed that a prisoner of war (PoW) goes through these procedures:

• He will be debriefed to see if he revealed anything important to Pakistan
• He might also be questioned by the Intelligence agencies, as in the old days, there used to be an assessment of a possibility of a brainwash
• A bug scan will also be done. However, Joshi tells us that chances of that happening depend largely on if at any given moment, he was unconscious under Pakistan custody
• A fitness test will be conducted

According to a Firstpost article, apart from the medical checkup, an IAF committee will try to reconstruct to “gauge Pakistan's preparedness”.

CNN News18, citing Retired Lt General HS Panag, said that upon return, the PoW is first disarmed and then interrogated in order to acquire “whatever information can be acquired from him”.

According to the News18 report, the pilot may also undergo psychological tests, too, in case he has been tortured by the Pakistan Army to extract information.

The FirstPost report quoted Colonel Vivek Chadha of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), saying that the procedure could take anywhere between a day to one week.

Since Abhinandan is a serving officer, he will then be sent back to work as soon as the debriefing is done.

(WIth inputs from FirstPost and News18.)