IAF officer charged with raping colleague’s wife

Bhartesh  Singh Thakur.

A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been instituted at Chandigarh’s Air Force Station against a Wing Commander for repeatedly raping and “stealing the love and affection” of his colleague’s wife.

The inquiry was instituted after a Lieutenant Colonel, who did not wish to be named, complained that 39-year-old Wing Commander Akshay Phadke sexually exploited his wife and tried to benefit from his marital discord by misguiding her that the marriage was over.

As per the complainant, his wife first came in contact with Phadke’s kin in United Kingdom in 2005. After he was posted to Army Headquarters in Delhi, she also joined him but soon their marriage hit a rock. In July 2009, the Lieutenant Colonel moved to Congo leaving his wife behind. In the meantime, Phadke also moved to Delhi and became a neighbour of his wife.

In the complaint submitted to Air Officer In-Charge Administration, Air Marshal JN Burma, in January this year the Lieutenant Colonel writes, Phadke got the mobile number of his wife and started chatting with her. Soon he tried to capitalise on the their marital discord and allegedly raped her. He also complained that Phadke’s father who is a senior officer in Air Force also threatened him with dire consequences when he protested against Wing Commander’s action.

The CoI was initiated by an order dated February 7 and comprises Group Captain Biji Philip as the Presiding Officer and Wing Commander Vineet Lamba, as a member.

Phadke later approached the Chandigarh Bench of Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) against the CoI, but it refused to intervene into the matter.

In his defence, Phadke claimed that the charges of repeated rapes in the November of 2009 were never reported to the local police for 16 months.

He added that such offences should be investigated by the local police, which is the appropriate authority, and the case be tried in Delhi courts.

-via Indian Express