The Indian Air Force (IAF) released a statement on Tuesday announcing that it had dismissed three officers over the accidental firing of the unarmed missile into Pakistan in March.
The statement clarified that a Court of Inquiry decided to terminate the officers after concluding that the officers had “deviated” from standard operating procedures.
Breaking: Indian govt terminates 3 officials in the accidental firing of Brahmos. The missile had landed in Pakistan. https://t.co/EynDVgfhus pic.twitter.com/KROxaYVe7Z
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) August 23, 2022
The inquiry was led by Air Vice Marshal RK Sinha and was completed in April, following which the findings were presented for legal analysis. Investigators determined that the incident was a result of human error and not a technical issue with the missile.
In a first-of-its-kind incident in March, the Indian Defence Ministry said that an Indian BrahMos missile had landed in Mian Channu, 124 kilometres inside Pakistani territory, due to a “technical malfunction” during “routine maintenance.”
In response, the Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry demanded a joint probe into the incident and also summoned the Indian chargé d’affaires to protest the violation. Then-Pakistani National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf questioned India’s “ability to handle such sensitive technologies” and criticised what it perceived to be “loopholes and technical lapses of serious nature in Indian handling of strategic weapons.” Islamabad also refused to accept the findings of any internal inquiries by New Delhi and even questioned if “rogue elements” were behind the accident.
However, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh clarified that the missile system was reliable and safe and India’s “safety procedures and protocols” are regularly reviewed and stood at the “highest order.”
The BrahMos missile is a nuclear-capable land-attack missile that was developed by Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation.
It has at least one “software lock” and two manual keys before the countdown for its launch can be initiated. According to the American Arms Control Association, the missile has a range of 300-500 kilometres and has the capability to strike Islamabad.
The incident prompted calls for a more robust mechanism to prevent an escalation of tensions between the two neighbouring nuclear-powered countries. Erstwhile Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said Islamabad “could have responded” to the accidental missile launch but “observed restraint” instead.
Likewise, NSA Yusuf said, “In a nuclear environment, such callousness and ineptitude raise questions about the safety and security of Indian weapon systems.”
The incident occurred just 13 months after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), wherein they committed to using the hotline mechanism and border flag meetings to discuss any future course of action to “resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding.”
In other related developments, several Indian media outlets have reported that the Mumbai police has received warnings of a 26/11-like terror attack, when Pakistani terrorists killed over 175 people in Mumbai in 2008.
A man has already been detained over the threat call, which officials said was sent from a Pakistani number. Security officials in Raigad also confiscated three AK-47 rifles and live cartridges found on a boat earlier this week. Moreover, just this Sunday, the Lalit Hotel in Mumbai received a threat call asking for Rs 5 crore ($630,000) to get the bombs diffused.
Pakistan, however, rejected the “distorted” version of the incident and accused the Indian media of launching a “deceitful” ‘false flag’ operation. Denying any connection between the threats and Pakistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the reports are a “sinister Indian design to yet again raise the “terrorism” bogey to malign Pakistan.” It warned that “India must recognise that no amount of its false propaganda can deter Pakistan from exposing India’s brutalisation of the Kashmiri people.”