CHANDIGARH: It was 'Abhinandan' for Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, released by Pakistan late on Friday at the Wagah-Attari joint check-post (JCP), sixty hours after he was captured.
Wearing a white shirt, blue blazer and grey pants and sporting some scars on his face, a smiling Abhinandan walked back into India around 9.20 pm. He was then taken to Amritsar in a Toyota Innova car. "Wing Commander Abhinandan has been handed over. As per standard procedure, he will be taken for a detailed medical check-up as he had to eject from a plane,’’ Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor said.
Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon said, "As he crossed over, Abhinandan was smiling. He said it was good to be back home. He has been taken away by the senior officials of the air force and he will be flown to Delhi after medical examination."
"We were earlier given to understand that he will be handed over to us at 6 PM but there was a delay by the Pakistani authorities. We have not asked Pakistan why. We are happy to have him. As a special case, the border was opened and he crossed the zero line into India," said Dhillon.
It is learnt that there was some problem in the documentation that led to the delay. The time of Abhinandan's release was changed twice, said sources.
He was brought by Pakistani authorities from Rawalpindi to Lahore and then taken from there to the Batapur barracks of the Pakistani army, a few kilometres from the Wagah border. After the paperwork got over, he was finally allowed to walk to the JCP at the Wagah-Attari border, said sources.
Senior IAF, Army, BSF, Punjab Government and Punjab Police officials were waiting for Abhinandan from the afternoon.
Since morning patriotic fervour prevailed at the Attari border, with the public singing songs, beating drums and carrying the tricolour in their hands. Hundreds of people waving the tricolour flocked to Attari to catch a glimpse of the pilot.
Barely one km away from the Indo-Pak border, people sang patriotic songs and raised slogans like "Bharat Mata ki Jai". A youth from a nearby village was seen carrying a huge garland, while an elderly man
was seen beating a dhol. Senior Deputy Mayor of Amritsar Raman Bakshi, who was also earlier present, too sang patriotic songs.
A group of youth sang, "Is desh ke yaaron kya kehna, yeh desh hai veer jawanoon ka". Earlier a youth carrying a garland of the airman said, "If permitted, I want to welcome the Wing Commander with this garland."
Others in the crowd said Pakistan should stop aiding and abetting terror or else be prepared to face the consequences.
By 6.30 PM, many people left as the wait was growing longer. It was raining and only the Punjab Police, BSF, Army and Air Force officers were there apart from a handful of people with candles in their hands.
Earlier Pakistan had reportedly turned down a request by India to send back Abhinandan by air.
The IAF pilot's MiG 21 was shot and he bailed out after bringing down one Pakistani F-16 fighter during the dogfight to repel a Pakistani attack on Wednesday morning.