IAF orders Court of Inquiry into death of trainee flying officer in Bengaluru

The IAF on Sunday said it has ordered a Court of Inquiry into the death of a trainee flying officer in Bengaluru, after police charged six of its officers with murder in the case.

Ankit Kumar Jha was found hanging at Air Force Technical College (AFTC). The charges against the IAF officers were slapped following a complaint by Jha's brother, a police officer said in Bengaluru.

Referring to media reports in the case, the IAF in a statement said that Under Trainee Flying Officer (UTFO) Ankit Kumar Jha joined the force in February last year but his training was terminated on September 20 for "'misconduct" based on an investigation that probed a complaint against him by a woman trainee officer.

Also Read | 6 IAF officers charged with murder after trainee cadet found hanging

"The Indian Air Force condoles the unfortunate loss of life and prays for strength to the bereaved family in their time of grief. The IAF is cooperating with the investigation being conducted by the police on the matter," the IAF said.

It said a postmortem examination was conducted on September 23 and the report is awaited.

"'A Court of Inquiry by IAF is underway to establish the circumstances leading to the death of the UTFO," the IAF said.

It said an officer was deputed to convey the news of "this unfortunate happening" to the parents of late AK Jha in Delhi and his kin visited the AFTC on Saturday where they were briefed about the incident.

The statement said that Ankit Jha's training had been terminated on September 20 after informing his father of the same".

"Termination of training was the result of recommendations made by a Court of Inquiry (COI), which was instituted following a complaint by a fellow woman trainee officer against the UTFO on June 30," it said.

"It had been established that the UFTO had committed certain acts of misconduct. The inquiry proceedings were duly examined at multiple levels before being approved at the Air headquarters, as per established procedure on the subject," the IAF said.

Based on his brother Aman Jha's complaint, the police registered a case against six IAF officers at Gangammana Gudi police station on Saturday for Ankit's death, according to local police.