Tejas crash in Dubai was a con

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Tejas crash in Dubai was a conspired case ?

Was the Tejas crash in Dubai an outcome of a conspired act that was hatched purposely to malign India's ambitious goal of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' - a programme conceived for country's self reliance?

No definite answer to this question, though could be tracked after hours of the tragic incident that gave a jolt to India's intent to rule the sky with indigenous technologies.

The Indian Air Force, meanwhile has confirmed that the Tejas aircraft "met with an accident” during the demonstration and that the pilot sustained fatal injuries. Last year, one Tejas had crashed in Rajasthan, incidentally.

The Tejas, performing an eight-minute aerial display, was seen abruptly losing altitude during what appeared to be a low-level manoeuvre. Visuals aired across the globe showed the jet plunging to the ground and erupting into a ball of fire, sending thick black smoke into the sky above Al Maktoum International Airport. Spectators at the grandstand, including families and children, watched in shock as emergency teams rushed to the crash site.

Centre described some narratives circulated in several cyber space domains as "deliberately pushed to undermine the jet's reliability" and urged verification before sharing such 'motivated' information.

The crash came a day just after the Centre governed Press Information Bureau (PIB)'s fact-check unit debunked social network claims of an "oil leakage" from a Tejas aircraft at the airshow.

On 20 November, the PIB addressed circulating videos alleging technical issues with the Tejas Mk1 - country's indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft stating: "Several propaganda accounts are circulating videos claiming that at the Dubai Airshow 2025, the Indian LCA Tejas Mk1 suffered oil leakage. These claims are fake."

This hints about the negative propaganda about Tejas leading to the suspicion about a probable conspiracy planned and hatched purposely to cause injury to Tejas or it's mentor Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The videos pushed to circulate especially by some Pakistani agencies in multiple networks a day ahead of the disastrous Dubai mishap showed that 'oil was leaking from one of the Tejas jet engines', which India ridiculed explaining: "It's a routine, intentional draining of condensed water from the aircraft's Environmental Control System (ECS) and On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS)", a standard procedure in humid conditions like Dubai's.

There is however no confirmation as yet if the jet that crashed and the one that became the target of Pakistani propaganda, were the same.

The ill fated pilot who failed to eject has been identified as Squadron Leader Naman Syal from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, the Indian Air Force authorities said.

Centre, in August, this year, incidentally gave the final nod for acquisition of another 97 indigenous Tejas worth Rs 85,500 Crore. Earlier, in November, 2023 had ordered 83 Mk 1A Tejas aircraft worth Rs 36,468 Crore with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in an effort to amp up India's defence preparedness.