Group Captain Ranjeet Singh Sidhu from Muktsar to get Vir Chakra

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday approved Group Captain Ranjeet Singh Sidhu's name for the Vir Chakra. Hailing from Gidderbaha in Muktsar, he is among 15 recipients of the gallantry award this year.

He is being honoured for playing a key role during the Operation Sindoor. His family originally belongs to Raike Kalan village in Bathinda.

When the first batch of five Rafale fighter jets was brought to India from France in 2020, Ranjeet, then a Squadron Leader, flew one of them, which landed at Ambala.

Speaking over the phone late this evening, elated Col Sudhanshu Arya (retd), Principal of Malwa School in Gidderbaha, the alma mater of Ranjeet, said, “This is a proud moment for the country. Ranjeet participated in Operation Sindoor. He completed his Class XII here before joining a course at the Panjab University, Chandigarh. Meanwhile, he cleared the NDA exam and joined the Indian Air Force. He visited the school last December on Founders' Day.”

Ranjeet's teachers remembered him as an all-rounder. "He developed a love for the Air Force while studying in Class X," they recalled.