Indian war hero charged with cowardice
By: Ashraf Javed | Published: January 01, 2011
LAHORE – A survivor of the sunk Indian Frigate I.N.S Kukri, which was torpedoed by the Pakistani submarine P.N.S Hangor, off the coast of Gujarat in the Arabian Sea on the night of December 9, 1971, has filed a petition in the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal, calling for withdrawal of gallantry award from Rear Admiral (Retd) Rishi Raj Sood.
The petitioner, Chanchal Singh Gill, a sailor on the I.N.S Kukri, who survived the sinking ship, has raised charges of cowardice, dereliction of duty and running away from the scene against Admiral Sood, who then as a naval commander commanded I.N.S Kirpan, which was accompanying Kukri on the hunt for the Pak submarine whose presence had been earlier reported close to the Indian coast.
Instead of launching a counter attack following the sinking of Kukri and rescuing the survivors, Kirpan left the site of engagement, returning 13 hours later when many wounded sailors from Kukri had succumbed to injuries in the cold waters of the sea.
According to Gill instead of holding Court Martial, a massive cover up by the higher-ups in the Indian navy led to Admiral Sood’s decoration with Vir Chakra for ‘bravery in the battle-field’.
The loss of Kukri took the lives of 194 crew members making it India’s single largest wartime loss of men.
Surprisingly, no court of inquiry was assembled by the Indian Navy brass to look into such a colossal loss, say analysts.
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Indian war hero charged with cowardice
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