The woman, a Flying Officer, has alleged that the accused, a Wing Commander, called her to his room after a new year party at the officers’ mess on Dec 31 last year on the pretext of her not having received the gift being distributed at the function.
On entering the room, when she asked where the Wing Commander’s wife and children were, he replied they were elsewhere. She alleged he then forced her into oral sex and molested her. “I repeatedly asked him to stop and tried to resist it. Finally, I pushed him and ran away,” she said, in the FIR lodged at the Budgam police station on Sept 8.
IAF, on being contacted by TOI, said: “We are aware the woman officer has lodged an FIR. Budgam Police have approached the air force station (Srinagar) authorities. IAF is fully cooperating in the investigation.”
“I was afraid and didn’t know what to do as there were instances before also wherein, I was discouraged to report. He (the accused) visited my office after this incident… He behaved as if nothing happened ,” she said. “I can’t describe the mental agony of being an unmarried girl who had joined the forces and was treated in such a heinous manner,” she said, adding she initially lacked the courage to report the incident.
When she told two women officers about the incident, they told her to complain to the higher authorities in the station, following which an inquiry was ordered. But when she objected to the accused’s presence during the recording of her statement on Jan 29-30, the investigation was “closed to hide the mistakes of the administration”.
The woman officer then filed a fresh application to the internal committee (IC) of the unit. The IC was assembled only after two months. “The bias of the station authorities to aid the sexual offender was very heart breaking,” she said, alleging that a medical examination was not done till she insisted multiple times.
The IC said the evidence was “inconclusive” because there was no eyewitness and closed the probe on May 15. “Isn’t it common sense that someone would not do sexual assault in front of a witness?” she said.
“I am forced to socialise with these people and attend events with my abuser,” she added.