Info about 6 soldiers dying in Op Sindoor never hidden, DGMO on May 11, 2025 briefed about casualties: Defence ministry
NEW DELHI: The defence ministry on Saturday asserted that information about the deaths of six military personnel during the May 7-10 2025 Operation Sindoor was never hidden from the public as it said that “during the official press conference held on May 11, 2025”, a day after the operation ended, the “then Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) paid solemn tribute to these brave soldiers and specifically acknowledged their sacrifice in the line of duty during Op Sindoor”.
“These bravehearts were conferred with gallantry awards and this was published in the press release of Aug 14, 2025,” the ministry said, while pointing out that “simultaneously, the Indian Army ’s official social media platforms carried tributes to these bravehearts without delay”.
The ministry also clearly stated that “certain posts circulating on social media platforms have sought to misrepresent defence minister Rajnath Singh's address delivered on the floor of Parliament on July 28, 2025”. Ministry sources told TOI that Congress’s allegations that Rajnath lied about deaths of Indian soldiers in Op Sindoor in Parliament last year is wrong as the minister’s statement was specifically about no military personnel dying in air crashes while rubbishing Pakistan’s allegations that it shot down several Indian fighter jets that led to the deaths of several IAF pilots during the operation. “These (posts) are deliberately misleading and factually incorrect,” the ministry said.
“Those who have sought to construct a controversy out of Raksha Mantri's parliamentary address have done so by deliberately ignoring the full context of his remarks. It must be recalled that at the time of the Raksha Mantri's address, a particularly persistent and dominant narrative had taken hold, both in certain sections of the media and on social media, which claimed that Indian pilots had been lost during Op Sindoor. This narrative was entirely false, yet it was being amplified aggressively with the clear intent of diminishing the success of the operation and demoralising public sentiment. It was in direct reference to this specific and mischievous narrative that the Raksha Mantri made the statement in question. His remarks were, therefore, a targeted and contextually specific response to a falsehood that was gaining dangerous traction at that moment,” the ministry clearly stated.
“It is also important to place the Raksha Mantri's address in its full and proper context. His statement in Parliament was, in its entirety, a proud and accurate account of the remarkable success of Op Sindoor, an operation in which the Indian defence forces demonstrated unmatched precision, resolve, and military professionalism,” it said.
During the operation, more than 100 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers were neutralised, Pakistani air bases were hit, and its deployment along the Line of Control suffered extensive damage.
The ministry further said that during the Army Day Parade held at Jaipur on January 15, 2026, the Chief of the Army Staff presented the Sena Medal (Gallantry) to the families of three of these gallant soldiers, while the Chief of the Air Staff did the same on Oct 8, 2025 in a solemn ceremony, reaffirming the defence forces’ enduring commitment to honouring those who have laid down their lives in the service of the nation.
With regard to the engraving of the names of the fallen soldiers on the National War Memorial, it is emphasised that this sacred process is governed by an established and well-defined protocol, the ministry said. “The defence forces follow these laid-down procedures with due diligence, care and reverence, commensurate with the solemnity of the honour being conferred. Any suggestion that due process was not followed is factually incorrect,” it said.
“These bravehearts were conferred with gallantry awards and this was published in the press release of Aug 14, 2025,” the ministry said, while pointing out that “simultaneously, the Indian Army ’s official social media platforms carried tributes to these bravehearts without delay”.
The ministry also clearly stated that “certain posts circulating on social media platforms have sought to misrepresent defence minister Rajnath Singh's address delivered on the floor of Parliament on July 28, 2025”. Ministry sources told TOI that Congress’s allegations that Rajnath lied about deaths of Indian soldiers in Op Sindoor in Parliament last year is wrong as the minister’s statement was specifically about no military personnel dying in air crashes while rubbishing Pakistan’s allegations that it shot down several Indian fighter jets that led to the deaths of several IAF pilots during the operation. “These (posts) are deliberately misleading and factually incorrect,” the ministry said.
“Those who have sought to construct a controversy out of Raksha Mantri's parliamentary address have done so by deliberately ignoring the full context of his remarks. It must be recalled that at the time of the Raksha Mantri's address, a particularly persistent and dominant narrative had taken hold, both in certain sections of the media and on social media, which claimed that Indian pilots had been lost during Op Sindoor. This narrative was entirely false, yet it was being amplified aggressively with the clear intent of diminishing the success of the operation and demoralising public sentiment. It was in direct reference to this specific and mischievous narrative that the Raksha Mantri made the statement in question. His remarks were, therefore, a targeted and contextually specific response to a falsehood that was gaining dangerous traction at that moment,” the ministry clearly stated.
“It is also important to place the Raksha Mantri's address in its full and proper context. His statement in Parliament was, in its entirety, a proud and accurate account of the remarkable success of Op Sindoor, an operation in which the Indian defence forces demonstrated unmatched precision, resolve, and military professionalism,” it said.
During the operation, more than 100 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers were neutralised, Pakistani air bases were hit, and its deployment along the Line of Control suffered extensive damage.
The ministry further said that during the Army Day Parade held at Jaipur on January 15, 2026, the Chief of the Army Staff presented the Sena Medal (Gallantry) to the families of three of these gallant soldiers, while the Chief of the Air Staff did the same on Oct 8, 2025 in a solemn ceremony, reaffirming the defence forces’ enduring commitment to honouring those who have laid down their lives in the service of the nation.
With regard to the engraving of the names of the fallen soldiers on the National War Memorial, it is emphasised that this sacred process is governed by an established and well-defined protocol, the ministry said. “The defence forces follow these laid-down procedures with due diligence, care and reverence, commensurate with the solemnity of the honour being conferred. Any suggestion that due process was not followed is factually incorrect,” it said.
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