Kambampati Nachiketa
Kambampati Nachiketa Rao, VM is a serving officer of the Indian Air Force.
Kambampati Nachiketa is an Indian Air Force officer who was captured during the Kargil War on 27 May 1999 by a Pakistani patrol led by Capt. Rao Tahseen Ali in Kashmir after his aircraft was shot down by the same Pakistani patrol. Nachiketa ejected from his MiG-27L and was held in Pakistani custody as the first Indian prisoner of war of the conflict.
Early life
Nachiketa was born on 31 May 1973 to Sri. K. R. K. Sastry and Smt. K. Laxmi. He studied at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Delhi, and joined the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla.Kargil War
During the Kargil War, Nachiketa was a Flight Lieutenant and a Mikoyan MiG-27 pilot from No. 9 Squadron IAF who took part in a strike in the Batalik Sector on 26 May 1999. Armed with 80mm rockets and the aircraft's 30mm cannon, Nachiketa attacked an enemy position. During the operation, the aircraft's engine suffered a flame out. Attempts to re-light the engine failed and Nachiketa was forced to eject.After ejecting, Nachiketa evaded immediate capture but after two to three hours, a Pakistani army patrol captured him. Nachiketa continued to fire his service pistol till he ran out of bullets and was arrested. He was taken to a prison in Rawalpindi where he was beaten up by Pakistani soldiers until a senior officer intervened.
Life as a prisoner
Nachiketa remained in the custody of Pakistani forces for eight days. He was first taken to an undisclosed location in the Batalik. After a two-hour wait, he was taken by helicopter to Skardu.He was interrogated by the Director of Operations of the Pakistan Air Force, Group Captain Kaiser Tufail. This interrogation was called "very civil" by Tufail, who said it was a casual talk between two officers rather than the captor and a POW. Tufail said his mandate was to inquire the circumstances of the ejection and the mission.