President Murmu Poses With Air Force Pilot Shivangi Singh Pak Said Had Been Captured

Pakistan media reports said Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh had been captured. Pakistan media reports said she was a PoW, a prisoner of war, her fighter jet shot down during Operation Sindoor. Pakistan media reports lied.

On Wednesday morning the Varanasi-born Squadron Leader posed with President Droupadi Murmu at Haryana's Ambala Air Force base, all strength and smiles, after having given the latter a hands-on tour of the new Rafale multi-role fighter, and yet another piece of Pak propaganda was busted.

The image - the Squadron Leader in flight overalls standing tall and proud with the President by her side and the Rafale in the background - spoke volumes about India's military might and Pak's lies.

Back in May, after India launched Op Sindoor, the military response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which was carried out by Pak-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and killed 26 people, the Pak propaganda system went into overdrive, claiming assorted (and remarkable) military triumphs.

READ | Propaganda, Outright Lies: How Pak Is Ramping Up Misinformation Warfare

None of those claims, specifically that it shot down six Indian military aircraft, including one of the fresh-bought and expensive French-made Rafale fighter jets, were even remotely true.

⚠️Propaganda Alert!

Beware of old images shared by pro-Pakistan handles in the present context!

An #old image showing a crashed aircraft is being circulated with the claim that Pakistan recently shot down an Indian Rafale jet near Bahawalpur during the ongoing #OperationSindoor… pic.twitter.com/LdkJ1JYuH0

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 7, 2025

The military and the government responded in detail, presenting reams of data and visual evidence to confirm that not only had Pak not shot down even one Indian plane, but it also lost six of its own.

The losses, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said, included at least four US-made F-16 and China's JF-17 fighter jets, as well as a 'big bird', likely an AEW&C (airborne early warning and control) plane.

READ | "Pak F-16, J-17 Fighter Jets Destroyed In Op Sindoor": Air Force Chief

Another of those claims was that Squadron Leader Singh's plane had been disabled and she had been captured. That particular claim was circulated by multiple Pak social media handles.

There were even videos of the Air Chief Marshal 'visiting her grief-stricken family'.

Indian Female Air Force pilot has NOT been captured🚨

Pro-Pakistan social media handles claim that an Indian Female Air Force pilot, Squadron Leader Shivani Singh, has been captured in Pakistan.#PIBFactCheck

❌ This claim is FAKE!#IndiaFightsPropaganda@MIB_India… pic.twitter.com/V8zovpSRYk

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 10, 2025

India responded swiftly and the government's fact-check wing said clearly, "Pro-Pakistan social media handles claimed an Indian female Air Force pilot, Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, has been captured in Pakistan. This claim is fake!"

The videos were found to be unrelated; it showed the Air Chief Marshal visiting the family of Sergeant Surendra Kumar, who died fighting for India during Op Sindoor.

The Air Force also confirmed Singh - the first female Indian fighter jet pilot to fly the Rafale, and who was reportedly mentored by Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan and returned a hero - was alive and 'performing her operational duties'.

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