Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik hoped and prayed for the safe return of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who has been captured by Pakistan during an air combat.
“Saluting the courage and valour of our forces, I hope and pray for the wellbeing and safe return of our brave pilot,””Patnaik tweeted Thursday.
The CM had earlier congratulated the Indian Air Force for its pre-dawn air strike on terror camps in Pakistan.
Wing Commander Varthaman was captured by the neighbouring country Wednesday amid a fierce engagement between the air forces of the two sides along the Line of Control (LoC).
Meanwhile in a separate development the IT Ministry has directed ‘YouTube’ to remove 11 video links of Varthaman that are being shown.
The ministry had asked ‘YouTube’ to remove the clips following directive from the Home Ministry, a government source said in New Delhi. The person also added that the said links have now been removed.
When contacted, a Google (which runs YouTube) spokesperson said the company complies with ‘valid legal requests from authorities wherever possible, consistent with our longstanding policy and act quickly to remove such material’.
Agencies