IAF Takes Stern Action Against Officer Over Rape Allegations, Security Breach

Two senior Air Force officials who are aware of the situation said on Wednesday that the Indian Air Force (IAF) is planning to take severe measures against a fighter pilot who has been charged with rape by a former civilian intern and indicted by a court of inquiry for breaching security procedures at one of the nation's premier fighter bases.

At the Ambala airbase, the forty-year-old wing commander is assigned to a Jaguar fighter squadron. He is accused of rape and criminal intimidation by a 25-year-old former intern at the IAF-affiliated Institute of Aerospace Safety in Palam. The first official stated that the wing commander was the subject of two independent Indian Air Force investigations into the accusations made against him: one by the Commander of the Western Air Command, which is based in Delhi, and another by the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of Air Force Station Ambala.

The first investigation looked into accusations of procedural violations, while the second investigated claims of rape. In June 2007, he received his IAF commission. A 26-year-old flying officer at the same airbase accused another wing commander at an IAF facility in Srinagar of rape, and that incident occurred recently. The wing commander allegedly sexually assaulted the flying officer on New Year's Eve, and the officer reported to police that multiple IAF internal investigation errors resulted in additional harassment and mental torture. The claims are being looked into by the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

According to the second official, there was a security breach at the Ambala
airbase, where the Indian Air Force has deployed its Rafale and Jaguar fighter
planes. The officer in question allowed unauthorised access to the technical
area of the Air Force Station, used a smartphone in an area that was off limits,
and circulated pictures of aircraft.

In certain situations, the IAF maintains a zero-tolerance policy that includes
morally repugnant behaviour. The officer will get the harshest penalty possible in order to discourage staff members from breaking required procedures. In the last two to three years, seven to eight employees' services had been terminated, he continued.

An IAF spokesman claimed the Ambala issue was under consideration and
declined to comment. The Delhi Police initiated an investigation into the
allegations of rape and criminal intimidation against the wing commander and filed a first information report (FIR) under sections 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the complaint the woman intern filed at the
Connaught Place police station on December 1, 2023.

Undoubtedly, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Air Command issued an order for the additional court of inquiry to investigate the grave accusations that the intern had made. In March 2024, the intern filed a 22-page complaint with the IAF, requesting Justice and an impartial investigation. Two months after they first met during a conference at the Ambala airbase in September 2022, the woman, who was interning as a psychologist at the Institute of Aerospace Safety in 2022, claimed in her complaint that the wing commander had taken her to a Connaught Place
hotel under false pretenses of raping her and conducting a stress assessment
test on him.

The intern stated that after a few months in 2023, the officer moved in with
her in Ambala, declared his love for her, apologised, and made a pledge to
marry her under false pretenses. She claims that in November 2023, the wing
commander attacked and sexually assaulted her once more when she
challenged him after learning that he was married and had two daughters.
According to her, a group captain at the base made an effort to shield the
defendant.

On August 28, the wing commander filed a request for a stay of the two
investigations against him with the Delhi High Court. The counsel for the
fighter pilot informed the Court that the respondents (Union of India & Others) should not take any further action based on the findings of the Courts of inquiry because the subject matter of the two courts of inquiry against the petitioner is the same as that being investigated by the police.

However, in his appearance on behalf of the respondents, an additional solicitor General Chetan Sharma stated that no action was being suggested concerning the rape charges, which are the focus of the inquiry under the ongoing FIR No. 219/2023, PS Connaught Place, New Delhi.

“We direct that till the next date, though the respondents (Union of India & Others) will be free to proceed with the disciplinary/administrative action
against the petitioner, they will not pass any final orders without the leave of
this Court,” a bench of Justices Rekha Palli and Shalinder Kaur said.
On November 5, the subject will be heard once more.

Author:

Aarya Kadam (News Writer) is a final-year BBA student and a creative writer with a passion for current affairs and legal Judgments.