President Murmu poses with Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh Pakistan falsely claimed to have captured
Shivangi Singh, a pilot with the Indian Air Force’s Golden Arrows Squadron, flew the Rafale fighter jet during Operation Sindoor, India’s precision airstrikes on nine terrorist targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in May this year.
PTC News Desk: President Droupadi Murmu, after completing a 30-minute sortie on Wednesday was seen with Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh at the Ambala Air Force base- a momemnt that seemingly dismisses Pakistani media reports of capturing the Rafale pilot during Operation Sindoor.
Shivangi Singh, a pilot with the Indian Air Force’s Golden Arrows Squadron, flew the Rafale fighter jet during Operation Sindoor, India’s precision airstrikes on nine terrorist targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in May this year.
The 29-year-old officer from Varanasi joined the IAF in 2017 as part of its second batch of women fighter pilots. Before qualifying to fly the Rafale in 2020, she operated the MiG-21 Bison. Her journey from piloting one of the oldest combat aircraft to one of the most advanced symbolizes the evolving role of women and the modernization of India’s air combat fleet.
Singh gained widespread attention during Operation Sindoor after Pakistan falsely claimed that India had lost multiple fighter jets, including a Rafale, and that she had been captured near Sialkot after ejecting from her aircraft.
A doctored video also circulated online, allegedly showing IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh stating that Shivangi Singh was missing and that he had met her family. The Indian government quickly refuted these claims, with PIB Fact Check labelling the video “baseless and fabricated.”