She claims that after accusing a colleague of sexual assault, she was threatened with the two-finger test and questioned about her previous relationships.
After a court in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore ruled that a 29-year-old Flight Lieutenant accused of rape by his colleague will be tried under the Court Martial Act, the case was transferred to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Doctors from the Indian Air Force interrogated an officer who accused another officer of rape and tried to discourage the officer from reporting it. In addition, the officer claims she was subjected to the illegal two-finger test and was discouraged from reporting it. She claims that all of this has caused her to “relive the trauma of the sexual assault.”
The National Commission for Women raised this issue with the IAF, saying in a statement Thursday that they are “utterly disappointed and strongly condemn” the action of Indian Air Force doctors who performed a “banned two-finger test” on their victim, in violation of the Supreme Court’s decision and violating the victim’s right to privacy and dignity.
She went to Air Force Administrative College in Coimbatore’s Redfields to learn how to file a FIR because she had run out of options and was disheartened by the government’s lack of response (First Information Report).
The woman claimed she had injured herself while playing a video game about two weeks before the assault. She later took her medication and went to bed alone in her room. She awoke later that night to discover she’d been sexually assaulted. She was astounded.
The police intervened after learning that the female officer was dissatisfied with how the Air Force handled her complaint.
Despite his attorney’s objections, the suspect was taken into custody on Sunday. The Coimbatore Police, according to the defense attorney, are not authorized to arrest an Air Force officer.
The IAF issued the following statement in response to the controversy on Thursday: “IAF investigators are working side by side with police investigators on their own investigation.” We are unable to provide any additional information because the case is still pending.”
