'71 war veteran Squadron Leader Anil Bhalla dies of Covid

Mumbai, May 11 Squadron Leader Anil Bhalla (retd), who as a young Flying Officer flew MiG-21 sorties during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, has died after battling Covid, his family sources said on Tuesday. The 74-year-old flying ace, a native...

Tribune Web Desk

Updated At : 01:26 PM May 12, 2021 IST

Mumbai, May 11

Squadron Leader Anil Bhalla (retd), who as a young Flying Officer flew MiG-21 sorties during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, has died after battling Covid, his family sources said on Tuesday.

The 74-year-old flying ace, a native of Mumbai, died on Monday night at Hyderabad where he had settled after retirement from the Air Force in 1984, the sources said.

During the 1971 war, he flew several “active attack missions” to heavily defended targets like the Governor House in Dhaka, which became instrumental in forcing Pakistan’s surrender, a former colleague said. — PTI

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The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).

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