Coimbatore police challenge IAF custody of officer accused of rape

The Coimbatore Police have filed a petition in the district court seeking the custody of the Indian Air Force (IAF) flight lieutenant accused of raping his colleague

The Coimbatore Police have filed a petition in the district court seeking the custody of the Indian Air Force (IAF) flight lieutenant accused of raping his colleague. They have challenged a lower court’s order handing over Amitesh Harmukh, 29, to the IAF.

The 28-year-old has accused the IAF doctors of subjecting her to the banned two-finger test. (Deepak Sansta/Hindustan Times)

Harmukh was arrested after his 28-year-old colleague filed a First Information Report (FIR) on September 20 saying she was unhappy with the manner in which her case was handled. A women police station carried out preliminary inquiries and arrested Harmukh on September 25. Harmukh challenged his arrest and the IAF too argued the local police have no jurisdiction in the case. The IAF maintained the complainant and the accused belong to the armed forces and therefore were subject to the Air Force Act. The lower court on September 30 allowed the IAF to take Harmukh’s custody for a court-martial.

“The investigation on the woman’s complaint is still with us. The case was not handed over,” said a police officer. The investigation officer in the case on Thursday filed a revision petition in the Court of Principal District and Sessions Judge against the order of a magistrate handing over Harmukh to the IAF. “The revision application is to set aside the order of the magistrate and to keep the accused in judicial custody. And subsequently to direct the judicial magistrate to pass orders on the police custody application,” the officer said.

The 28-year-old has accused the IAF doctors of subjecting her to the banned two-finger test. Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari on October 5 denied the test was conducted.