Why IAF is 'targeting' its officer?

Air Force charges officer of immoral conduct after he is acquitted of killing signalman

Air Force charges officer of immoral conduct after he is acquitted of killing signalman

Wing Commander MS Mander is wondering what wrong has he committed that his force seems hell bent on prosecuting him.

Mander who was acquitted by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) of killing a signalman is now facing charges of having illicit relations with the wife of a fellow soldier.
The Wing Commander was accused of the murder of an army signalman who after trying to molest the wife of a Flight Lieutenant tried to escape the Test Identification Parade (TIP).

The incident dates back to March 1998 at Bikaner where Signalman Girje was sent to repair a telephone in the residence of a Flight Lieutenant. Girje after finding the wife of the flight lieutenant alone tried to molest her but had to flee when the lady raised an alarm. After few days Girje was asked to appear before Wing Commander MS Mander when the flight lieutenant filed a complaint.

After going through the case details, Mander asked a TIP to be arranged but Girje while being taken for the TIP tried to run away by jumping from the vehicle. Even though a few officers chased Girje he managed to evade them for sometime. "In the process he fell down and sustained head injuries. He was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries after two days," said advocate Major K Ramesh (Retd) who appeared for Wing Commander Mander in the AFT.

Even though it was clear from the beginning that Wing Commander Mander and others were in no way responsible for the death of signalman Girje they were booked under charges of murder and were sentenced to prison. "The AFT, after going through the facts and the post mortem report which had clearly mentioned that Girje died of the injury on his head, said the charges against the officers does not stand scrutiny," said Ramesh.
The AFT also ordered to reinstate the rank of Mander and absolved him of the murder charges.u00a0

However, for some strange reason, the IAF decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the order and came with an entirely new story to support its case. "IAF claimed that the Wing Commander had an illicit relationship with the lady concerned and they were caught red-handed by the Signalman Girje after which the entire incident took place," said Ramesh.

But the story fell flat when the defence lawyer asked why the IAF never brought up this information any time in the last 12 years. "This story was not shared by the IAF even during the court martial proceedings of the officer. How can they miss such a thing if it is of such importance?" asked Ramesh.

The apex court while denying the appeal also attached a cost to the IAF.