Ravi Khanna was an Indian Air Force Squadron Leader who was shot dead in Srinagar on 25 January 1990 by a group led by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik. Ravi Khanna’s name came into the limelight in 2022 when his widow, Nirmal Khanna, approached the court on 12 March 2022 and appealed to remove or amend the scenes from the film ‘The Kashmir Files’ that depicted her husband’s killing. She claimed that the scenes shown in the film were contrary to the real facts.
A still from the film The Kashmir Files – The man portraying Squadron leader Ravi Khanna
Wiki/Biography
Ravi Khanna was born in 1952 (age 38 years; at the time of death).
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
The parents of Ravi Khanna died soon after his killing in 1990. In 2019, in a conversation with a media house, his wife, Nirmal Khanna, stated that Yasin Malik ruined the lives of her family members. She said,
Yasin Malik not only murdered my husband but also killed my mother-in-law, my father-in-law and my mother. My two children lost their childhood. Our happiness was snatched away in a second. This terrorist turned our world upside down.”
Wife & Children
Ravi Khanna was married to Nirmal Khanna.
Nirmal Khanna, wife of Ravi Khanna
She is a retired master grade teacher from the Education Department in Jammu and Kashmir. The couple has two children, a boy and a girl.
Fateful Day
In 2019, Ravi Khanna’s wife, Nirmal Khanna, recalled the day of 25 January 1990 when her husband went to the office and was killed by Yasin Malik amid the curfew in Jammu and Kashmir. She remembered,
I lived in Rawalpora and our house was just 50 yards away from the crime scene. Amid curfew I heard sound of crackers that morning. At wit’s end I went to the roof top and saw some army vehicles and men in uniform. I went there to see what actually had happened and spotted my husband’s briefcase with a bullet mark on it. I realised that something wrong has happened.”
She added that the body of Ravi Khanna was lying in the pool of blood when she reached the killing spot. She said,
At a distance, I saw my husband lying in a pool of blood. I saw a bullet injury in his abdomen. Initially, I felt embarrassed thinking that if my husband could not endure a single bullet, then how could our borders be secured.”
Reportedly, Ravi Khanna was shot 27 times with an AK-47 assault rifle. He was rushed to the Badami Bagh cantonment hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The doctors reported that an entire magazine was emptied on Ravi Khanna’s back by the terrorists. According to some media sources, there was a scuffle between Ravi Khanna and Yasin Malik following which the latter killed Ravi Khanna. Ravi Khanna’s companion Flight Lieutenant BR Sharma, who was with him at that time, told Nirmal Khanna that Yasin Malik was the main culprit. In a conversation with a media house, Nirmal Khanna stated that BR Sharma told her that Ravi was politely directing the attackers the way to Nattipora and Yasin malik fired at Ravi Khanna first. She continued by saying that Yasin Malik emptied the whole magazine on Ravi Khanna’s back. She said,
He told me that Malik was leading the attackers and had sought directions for Nattipora from my husband. Ravi was giving him directions in a friendly manner when Malik fired first bullet in his abdomen. Following a scuffle, Malik emptied an entire magazine on my husband’s back.”
Allegations on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Later, Ravi Khanna’s wife, Nirmal Khanna, stated in a conversation with a media house that she felt surprised when in February 2006, Manmohan Singh shook hands with Yasin Malik and gave a terrorist a national platform. She added that she was feeling insulted. She said,
I didn’t expect him to shake hands with a terrorist. Being a PM he should have known the difference between right and wrong. When Manmohan Singh shook hands with Malik, I felt a grave insult to the supreme sacrifice of my husband. It felt as if the entire world mocked at me but then they were into negotiations with him to run their Kashmir agenda.”
Yasin Malik shaking hands with Manmohan Singh
Death
On 25 January 1990, Ravi Khanna was shot dead in Srinagar by Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik.
Facts/Trivia
- Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna’s son and daughter were eight and six years old, respectively, when he was killed. His mother, father, and mother-in-law passed away soon after he was killed. His wife, Nirmal Khanna, was thirty-eight years old when he died.
- Reportedly, Ravi Khanna was killed along with three other IAF personnel in the 25 January 1990 attack. The names of the three IAF personnel are Corporal D.B. Singh, Corporal Uday Shankar, and Airman Azad Ahmad. In October 2019, Ravi Khanna’s name was put on the War Memorial in New Delhi, which was earlier left by mistake. The issue was raised by Ravi Khanna’s wife in September 2019. An officer stated,
Their names were already there. Somehow, by mistake, Squadron Leader Khanna’s name was not there.”
- The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) head Yasin Malik is the main accused in the killing of four IAF personnel, including Squadron leader Ravi Khanna, on 25 January 1990. On 31 August 1990, Yasin Malik was detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) before the TADA court in Jammu for the killing of the four IAF personnel. Later, Yasin Malik was put in Tihar Jail by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) under the terror funding charges.
- The wife of Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna stated in a media conversation that she fought in court to get the widow pension. She added,
I have been denied war widow’s pension for long. Now, I feel accepted as the daughter of India. I had to fight for War Widows Pension for long. But as good citizens we should first know our duties and then take our rights.”
