Air Force officer accuses Wing Commander of assault; shares shocking details
PTC News Desk: A woman flying officer in the Indian Air Force has filed a police report, accusing a Wing Commander of sexual assault. According to the complaint, an FIR has been registered at the Budgam police station in Jammu & Kashmir. Both officers are based in Kashmir.
The Indian Air Force has stated that they have been working with authorities. "We are aware of the situation. Budgam's local police station has contacted the Indian Air Force in Srinagar over this matter, and we are fully collaborating with the local authorities," the IAF said.
The flying officer stated in her complaint that she has been subjected to harassment, sexual assault, and mental torture for the last two years.
The officer stated that at a New Year's party at the officers' mess on December 31, 2023, her senior asked whether she had received the gift. When she stated she hadn't, the Wing Commander told her the gifts were in his room and led her there. When she questioned where his family was, he answered they were somewhere else.
The flying officer claims that her senior forced her into oral sex and molested her. "I continuously asked him to stop, and I tried everything I could to resist. I finally pushed him and ran away. He said we would meet again on Friday when his family leaves," she stated.
The flying officer stated that it took some time for her to realise what had happened. "I was nervous and didn't know what to do because I had previously been discouraged from reporting. He came to my office after this incident... He acted as if nothing had happened, and there was no trace of regret in his eyes," she added.
The woman officer stated that she contacted two other female officers, who encouraged her to submit a report. "I can't describe (the) mental agony, being an unmarried girl who joined forces and was treated in such (a) heinous manner," she added.
She stated that after she filed her complaint, a Colonel-rank officer was assigned to investigate the incident. The Wing Commander was forced to sit down with her twice in January of this year to record the remarks, she claims. She stated that she objected to the senior officer's presence, and the probe was later terminated to "hide mistakes of administration".
She then submitted a fresh application to the internal committee, which met two months later. "The bias of Stn (Station) authorities to aid the sexual offender was very heart-breaking for me," she has alleged, claiming that a medical checkup wasn't done until she insisted several times.
"The IC (internal committee) failed to do its job effectively because higher formation directed it to keep the result neutral. Everyone was helping the sexual offender," the flying officer stated.
"I requested interim relief and leave multiple times, but I was denied leave each time," she claimed, adding that her requests for a change posting for herself or the Wing Commander were also ignored.
"I'm forced to interact with these people and attend events with my abuser...while he has fun. I am harassed by authorities on a daily basis," she stated.
She claimed that the Internal Committee ruled that the incident did not occur due to a lack of eyewitnesses and closed its investigation in May. "Isn't it common sense that someone would not do sexual assault in front of a witness?"
The flying officer has complained of "continuous mental harassment" and a "social boycott". "My personal communications have been continuously watched unofficially. The people I talk with are harassed by the authorities."
The ongoing harassment, she claimed, has had a negative influence on her mental health. "I am living in constant fear, under constant surveillance, and my social life has been severely destroyed. The harassment has driven me to sui.cidal thoughts, and I feel completely helpless."
- With inputs from agencies
