Bengaluru: IAF orders court of inquiry into AFTC trainee’s death

The trainee officer joined the IAF in February 2021 and was training at AFTC. His training had been terminated on September 20, 2022, the IAF said.

“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 30 June 2022. 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 Air HQ, as per established procedure on the subject,” the IAF said in a statement.

A police investigation into the suspected case of suicide is currently underway. A post-mortem report into the death is expected on Monday.

Ankit’s brother Aman had filed a complaint against six senior AFTC officials, including an Air Commodore, two Group Captains, and two Wing Commanders, on Thursday, accusing them of murder and tampering with evidence.

Ankit was found dead in an unoccupied hostel room at the AFTC in a suspected case of suicide on the afternoon of September 21, the day he was to be discharged from service.