Hidden for six months after war with Pakistan, India’s pilot Shivangi Singh emerges

Indian pilot Shivangi Singh emerged six months after the war with Pakistan. After maintaining silence for a long period, Indian media reported that she flew one of the Rafale fighter jets. It is pertinent to note that Pakistan shot down four Rafale aircraft of the Indian Air Force in a significant defeat for India on May 7.

On Wednesday, October 29, Indian President Droupadi Murmu made history by flying in the Indian Air Force’s Rafale jet. A photograph of her with Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh quickly became one of the most talked-about moments of the event.

There had been speculation that Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh had been captured by Pakistan during retaliatory Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos; however, no official confirmation was ever released.

During the conflict, Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations of Pakistan (DGISPR) Ahmed Shareef Chaudhry had dismissed reports of a female Indian pilot being captured, and called them mere social media rumours.

India, meanwhile, neither confirmed nor commented on the matter. Only months after the war, Shivangi Singh appeared in public after a long time of alleged hiding.