The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been granted permission to proceed with the court-martial of a flight lieutenant who was arrested for allegedly raping a fellow officer at a training academy. Due to a tug of war between the IAF and Tamil Nadu Police, the court allowed the air force to proceed against its officer.
Since the flight lieutenant was a serving officer, the IAF had recently moved the Coimbatore court to allow a court-martial against him. The TN police had been requested not to jail him by the air force. An all-female team of Tamil Nadu police arrested the air force officer on September 26 after the woman lodged a complaint. The accused, who comes from Chhattisgarh’s Durg district, committed the crime while taking part in an induction program at the training academy.
In a move that has gained much media attention, the court order comes as the complainer claims to have been subjected to a two-finger test, a preliminary, unscientific examination of rape survivors to determine whether they have been sexually abused. Additionally, some officers forced the woman to withdraw the complaint after knowing about the sexual assault
According to her complaint, which is reproduced in the police report, the flight lieutenant raped her at her quarters on September 9. CNN-News18 reviewed the FIR and determined that the woman had been gaslighted by a few officers to whose attention the incident had been brought. ‘I was feeling sick, my trauma intensified by the authorities’ attitude and knowing the fact that my rapist was going to walk free. I had a panic attack around 02 30 hrs and had to be taken to the AFH. I was administered pills as I could not sleep and was having great trouble breathing. I was given a day’s rest’.
Moreover, the woman claims that senior officers, including those in charge of her medical treatment, pressured her to withdraw her complaint and altered the letters that she had submitted, detailing her trauma. Furthermore, the institute’s authorities ‘tampered’ with the evidence she provided against the perpetrator, and their ‘callous attitude’ forced her to file a complaint with the civil police.
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A woman officer’s allegations have also prompted the National Commission for Women in New Delhi to write to the Indian Air Force to express strong opposition to her being subjected to a ‘banned and intrusive two-finger test’. A request has been made to the air chief marshal by the NCW. The National Commission for Women expressed disappointment and condemnation over the action of Indian Air Force doctors conducting the banned two-finger test on the victim, thereby violating the Supreme Court’s decision and violating the victim’s right to privacy and dignity, in response to a media report.
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