Jammu and Kashmir: Air Force Wing Commander booked for rape on complaint by junior officer

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have booked a wing commander of the Indian Air Force for allegedly raping a junior officer in January.

Both officers are posted at the Air Force Station, Srinagar.

The complainant has alleged that the wing commander sexually assaulted her after a New Year’s party held at the Officers’ Mess of the station in the early hours of January 1.

She has also alleged that she was subjected to “continuous harassment, sexual assault, and mental torture” over the last two years by authorities at the Air Force Station.

“I went into a mental shock being new to the atmosphere in the forces,” she said in her complaint. “I was embarrassed and was broken to that extent that I was lacking courage to report. I can’t describe mental agony being an unmarried girl who have joined forces and was treated in such heinous manner.”

The complainant said she was in a dilemma on whether to report the sexual assault, but that she eventually “decided to fight”. However, she accused senior officers at the station of not taking her complaint seriously.

“It took two months for station to assemble an Internal Committee…on April 2, 2024, Internal Committee assembled,” she said. “The bias of Station authorities to aid the sexual offender was very heartbreaking for me.”

She said that a medical examination was not conducted until she insisted several times. She claimed the Internal Committee also did not summon a witness who was “made to run away from camp area before giving his statement”.

According to the complainant, the Internal Committee concluded its investigation on May 15 by saying that it is “inconclusive that the incident happened or not,” citing the lack of witnesses.

The wing commander has been booked under an Indian Penal Code section dealing with rape committed by a member of the armed forces.