New Delhi: Garima Abrol, wife of IAF pilot Squadron Leader Samir Abrol, who was killed after a Mirage 2000 aircraft crashed at HAL in Bengaluru on February 1, is all set to join the Indian Air Force (IAF) in January 2020.

Garima has cleared the Services Selection Board exam in Varanasi and is likely to join the IAF's Air Force Academy in Dundigal, Telangana.

Garima who was a Zumba instructor had told in an interview earlier that she wanted to see what life looks like in his (husband Samir's) shoes. Legacy has to move on. Wearing the same uniform also gives a motive to sustain, she said.

Appreciating Garima's efforts, Retired Air Marshal Anil Chopra took to Twitter to call her a woman of “exceptional substance”.

He wrote, “Mrs Garima Abrol, wife of Sqn ldr Samir Abrol who martyred in Mirage2000 fighter plane crash while test flying it at HAL Airport. To join Air Force Academy. Woman of exceptional substance and will join @IAF_MCC in Jan 2020. Not all woman are made equal some are Armed forces Wives.”

It can be noted that Garima had penned an emotional letter on Facebook on February 10, and had questioned the system. She had vowed to fight against the fallacies in the system as soldiers continued to lose their lives in India.

She had asked, "How many more of these pilots have to give up their life to shake you up and make you realise there is something really wrong in the system?"

"Every soldier’s wife’s biggest fear in life is when her husband would be called to the front line and serve in an active war. I too had this fear. Many a times I woke up crying after having one such bad dream…But Samir would hold me, console me and tell me…that is the ultimate purpose of his job…to be able to serve our nation when the call comes…He wanted me to be brave, as that’s what he was, a brave soldier, patriot to the core," she had posted on her Instagram handle.