On March 9, 2022, an Indian Missile was inadvertently fired during maintenance operations which found its way into Pakistan. Taking cognizance of the move the Ministry of Defence acknowledged the accidental firing as a technical malfunction.
On 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry: Ministry of Defence
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2022
While this led to no casualties on the Pakistan side, the Central government taking a serious view of the situation ordered a high-level enquiry of the malfunction. Clarifying Government’s stance on the issue Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh made a statement in the Rajya Sabha today. He said, “During the routine maintenance and instruction of the missile, unfortunately, one missile was released at around 7 in the evening. Later it was learnt that the missile found its way into Pakistan’s territory. This incident is regrettable,”
My Statement in Rajya Sabha. pic.twitter.com/zKHypKgNLX
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 15, 2022
He added, “It is a sigh of relief that no casualties have resulted after the malfunction happened. I want to inform the house that we are taking this matter very seriously and orders have been given for an official high-level investigation,” Rajnath Singh informed that the reason behind the mistake will be clear only after the investigation. “We are also analysing our standard operating procedures (SOP) for operation, maintenance and instruction. The safety and security of our weapon systems are of primary concern to us and hence if a defect is detected we will rectify it immediately,” he added.
Concluding his statement Singh asserted, “We have a missile system which is secured and bankable with world-class safety procedures and protocols which are revived time to time. Our Armed forces are well-trained and disciplined and they have a good experience of handling such systems.”
