'Will Jeopardise Reputation': IAF Officer Gets Pre-Arrest Bail In Rape Case

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has granted pre-arrest bail to a Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force who is facing rape charges. The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday filed a first information report (FIR) after a woman Flying Officer gave a complaint, alleging rape by the Wing Commander.

"As the petitioner who is serving as Wing Commander... and in case of his arrest his reputation as well as the service career shall be jeopardised," the bail order stated.

The high court ordered the police not to file a chargesheet in the case without its permission. "This court has allowed the investigation to continue. However, we direct that the chargesheet shall not be filed without the permission of this court," said the order by a single-judge bench.

The high court ordered the Union Territory administration's Additional Advocate General to file a status report by the next date of hearing. It said the Wing Commander should be released on bail if he is arrested. The high court told the accused Wing Commander to meet the investigating officer from September 14 to 16, and whenever needed thereafter.

The accused has to give a surety of Rs 50,000, cannot leave Jammu and Kashmir without the permission of his Commanding officer, and cannot contact any prosecution witness, the high court said.

In her complaint, the 26-year-old Flying Officer said she has been suffering harassment, sexual assault and mental torture for the last two years.

READ | IAF Officer Files Rape Case Against Senior, Says Was Forced Into Oral Sex

The officer has said that at a New Year party at the officers' mess on December 31, 2023, her senior asked if she had received the gift. When she said she had not, the Wing Commander said the gifts were in his room and took her there. When she asked where his family was, he said they were elsewhere.

The Flying Officer alleged her senior then forced her into oral sex and molested her. "I repeatedly asked him to stop doing it and tried to resist it in all ways possible. Finally, I pushed him and ran away. He said that we would meet me on Friday again when his family leaves," she has said.

The Flying Officer said it took her a while to register what happened to her. "I was afraid and didn't know what to do as there were instances before also wherein I was discouraged to report. He visited my office post this incident... He behaved as if nothing happened and there was no sign of remorse in his eyes," she said.

The woman officer said she reached out to two other women officers and they guided her to file a complaint. "I can't describe (the) mental agony, being an unmarried girl who joined forces and was treated in such (a) heinous manner," she said.

Following her complaint, she said, a Colonel-rank officer was ordered to investigate the incident. The Wing Commander was made to sit down with her twice in January this year to record the statements, she has alleged. She has said she objected to the senior officer's presence and later the investigation was closed to "hide mistakes of administration".

She then filed a fresh application to the internal committee and it met two months later. "The bias of Stn (Station) authorities to aid the sexual offender was very heart-breaking for me," she has said, alleging that a medical examination was not done till she insisted multiple times.

"IC (internal committee) did not do its job properly as directions had come from higher formation to keep the result as neutral. Everyone was aiding the sexual offender," the Flying Officer has said. "I requested for interim relief and requested for leave multiple times but I was denied leave each time," she said, alleging that her requests for a different posting for herself or the Wing Commander were not heeded either.

"I am forced to socialise with these people and attend events with my abuser... While he is enjoying. I am getting harassed in (the) hands of authorities on a daily basis," she has said.

The internal committee, she has said, said that it is inconclusive whether the incident happened or not because of the lack of an eyewitness and closed its probe 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 "social boycott". "My personal communications have been constantly monitored unofficially. The individuals I speak with are harassed by the authorities."

The ongoing harassment, she said, has had a severe impact on her mental health. "I am living in constant fear, under 24/7 scrutiny and my social life has been completely disrupted. The harassment has driven me to suicidal thoughts, and I feel utterly helpless. I am unable to carry on with my daily life, and my social interactions are closely monitored and discouraged by authorities. I have endured this torture for too long, and I am at my breaking point," she has said.