A flight lieutenant called Amitesh was arrested and remanded to judicial prison on September 26, 2021, after the alleged rape of a lady at the Indian Air Force College in Redfields, Coimbatore, surfaced a few days earlier. The FIR filed in the case on September 20 not only details the alleged sexual assault that occurred at the institution, but it also makes serious allegations against the IAF, varying from subjecting the complainant to the prohibition two-finger test during medical assessment to victimising her and dissuading her from filing a formal complaint about the incident.
The claimant claims she was injured on the evening of September 9, 2021, and was given a painkiller as a result. The complainant and her classmates proceeded to the Officers' Mess bar later that evening, when she drank two drinks, one of which Amitesh reportedly insisted on paying for.
She became nauseated and vomited as a result, and two of her peers carried her to her room and put her to bed. Amitesh, the accused, reportedly came to her room and attempted numerous times to wake her up. According to the complaint, she told him she needed to sleep and that he should go.
According to the lawsuit, one of the survivor's friends, who had also helped put her to bed, woke her up the next day. The survivor's companion inquired as to why Amitesh was in her room and whether he was there with her consent. Based on what she witnessed, the friend accused Amitesh of sexually assaulting the survivor.
On Tuesday, 5 October, Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari commented on the alleged rape case in Coimbatore, saying that the IAF law is very harsh on any such occurrence and that no two-finger test has been done.
According to news agency PTI, the Indian Air Force has been accused of putting an officer at the Coimbatore Air Force Administrative College to the banned 'two-finger test,' which was previously used to check women in cases of sexual abuse.
The officer has also alleged the authorities of pressuring her to drop the sexual assault allegation she had made against the flight lieutenant.
While the Indian Air Force has disputed that the victim of the alleged rape at the IAF University in Coimbatore was subjected to the prohibited two-finger test, her lawyer claims that the assertion is untrue.
"The survivor had definitely told the forum that the medical officer conducted a two-finger-test," said Advocate Mohanakrishnan, who served in the Air Force and is now testifying on behalf of her.
She had said unequivocally that this was the only test she had conducted. However, that information is not admissible in the inquiry. So, how are we going to prove it? This isn't going to be an easy struggle."
On Tuesday, 5 October, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari stated that the lady was subjected to a "misreported" two-finger test. When she reported the case to her superiors in the Indian Air Force, the survivor said in her FIR that she was subjected to the prohibited test.
According to the lady, she was obliged to go to the police when IAF officials urged her to drop her complaint. Harmukh was arrested and charged with sexual assault by the police on September 26. The matter was turned over to the IAF for a court-martial after the police were instructed to do so by the Additional Mahila Court in Chennai. The IAF had filed a plea to transfer Harmukh, alleging jurisdiction because he was a serving officer.
The case's transfer has raised questions about transparency, as well as justice, given the woman's claims against IAF officials.
The National Commission for Women discussed the issue with the IAF last Thursday, expressing its "total disappointment" and criticising the IAF medics for performing the two-finger test on the victim.
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