Beaten Up In Pakistan, Abhinandan Varthaman's Medical Test Shows Rib Injury

A medical examination conducted on Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has identified a rib injury probably caused by an assault by local residents in Pakistan soon after he parachuted across the border on Wednesday, news agency ANI has reported. The MRI scan he was subjected to also showed lower spine injury that could have happened upon being ejected from his MiG-21 fighter plane after a dogfight with Pakistani F-16 jets that day, it quoted a source as saying.

The aim of the medical examination was to check if the IAF pilot suffered any internal injury, and whether the Pakistani authorities had planted any electronic spying devices - or bugs - in his body. According to ANI, the test carried out at the Research and Referral Hospital at Delhi Cantonment found no such implant.

Wing Commander Varthaman will undergo more check-ups and treatment at the facility for the next 10 days, the news agency quoted the source as saying.

The IAF pilot was subjected to detailed questioning and medical tests after he was handed to India by the Pakistani authorities on Friday, a move that helped de-escalate tensions building up between the two countries in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack on February 14. He was also visited by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who listened to a detailed account of his time in confinement.

ANI had earlier reported Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as saying that while Pakistani authorities did not physically torture him during the nearly 60 hours he spent in their custody, they subjected him to considerable "mental harassment". Pakistani officials, however, maintained that he was treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

(With inputs from ANI)