India on Tuesday sacked three Air Force officers after they were inducted by a court of inquiry set up to probe the "accidental firing" of a supersonic missile into neighbouring Pakistan in March this year.
A BrahMos missile that was "accidentally" fired on March 9 from an Air Force base in the northern Indian state of Punjab landed inside Pakistan’s Punjab province.
In a statement on March 11, the Indian Defence Ministry said, "On 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level court of enquiry."
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More than six months on, the Defence Ministry held the three Air Force officers responsible for the "misfire" of the Brahmos missile, with a strike range of 400kms, and sacked them, sources said.
In fact, a day after the "accidental firing", Pakistan’s military spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar said, “On 9 March, at 6.43pm, a high-speed flying object was picked up inside the Indian territory..."
"From initial course, it deviated and entered Pakistan territory and fell in Pakistani territory, causing some damage to civilian installations, but no loss of life was reported," he had said.
India and Pakistan are arch rivals and have fought at least three major wars since 1947 over the disputed territory of Kashmir.