Is Anjalli Gupta's allegation of sexual harassment an isolated case? She doesn?t think so. In an exclusive interview to IBN, Ajnalli claims that she felt there are several women in her own unit who are facing harassment but are putting up with it.
Bangalore: Flying Officer Anjalli Gupta was found guilty on five counts.
One of them was an incident at breakfast time, when she threw a pizza in the mess. This amounted to insubordination.
Another was a false claim for Rs 1,080 for a trip she didn't make.
"It's not a question of 1,080 rupees or two lakh, it's the question of integrity," says an IAF official.
Ironically, Anjalli had been awarded a certificate lauding her "clean" character just weeks before the court martial began.
On Thursday, General Court Martial recommended her dismissal.
On Friday, she was back at work in uniform.
It?s not as if she is waiting for a miracle. But one can?t walk away from hard facts.
Speaking to IBN in an exclusive interview, Anjalli says hers is not an isolated case. "I know that there are other women officers who are facing harassment but they are not talking about it," says Anjalli.
In fact, sexual harassment charges against the Armed Forces are slowly coming out of the closet.
In March this year, three women cadets had accused a senior Air Force instructor of sexually harassing them in Hyderabad.
Following the accusations the three were suspended just 20 days before they completed their course.
PAGE_BREAK
"There were attempts to harass me at work place, physical abuse, forceful entry into my residential quarters. Where else can I feel safe?" Anjali asks.
But at the Jalahalli Air Force Station where she?s currently serving, officials don?t see how her allegations of sexual harassment will stand.
A court of enquiry failed to find sufficient evidence to support her claims.
The report of the court of enquiry recommends that no action be taken against the officials against whom she has made allegations.
Her life is in a maze now, her future looks bleak. After all, it was her desire for the unconventional that got her into the services in the first place.
The only option left for Anjalli to stay with the forces is to put up an appeal against the court-martial verdict to the Chief of Air Staff.
The Air Force has also rejected her demands of an independent probe.
But her family in Delhi has decided not to take it lying down.
They say the trial, the allegations against her and the verdict were all biased and unjust.
Anjali's family say they will appeal in civil court if needed.
"In India, at least the law I believe is never helpless. Judiciary is of a very high level available to us in India itself. Fight will continue definitely," says Anjalli's borther-in-law, Jitender Garg.
(Deepa Balakrishnan in Bangalore; Divya Iyer in Delhi)
Comments
0 comment