Who is Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman?

After Indian Pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was taken into custody by Pakistani forces on Wednesday an old footage of the fighter pilot from 2011 has started making rounds on social media.

The footage shared is from a documentary where the said pilot can be seen getting introduced along with his fellow fighter pilots in a an Indian Air Force documentary  released on  May 16, 2011. 

According to reports, the detained Indian pilot is said to be the son of a retired Air Marshall and was flying an MiG 21 Bison jet on Wednesday that was shot down by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) with the pilot taken into custody.

Soon after the attack, a footage of the captive being questioned was also released where he can be heard saying: “My name is Wing Commander Abhinandan and my service number is 27981.”

"I am a flying pilot and my religion is Hindu [sic]," he adds further.

"May I request for a little information, sir? Am I with the Pakistani army?" he questioned while refusing to answer any additional probes.