Ankit Kumar Jha was terminated for misconduct: IAF

BENGALURU: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has said that the training of Under Trainee Flying Officer (UTFO) Ankit Kumar Jha, who was found dead on Air Force Technical College (AFTC) premises in Jalahalli, was terminated on September 20, 2022, following allegations of harassment against him by a fellow woman trainee officer on June 30, 2022.    

In a media statement, the IAF said it is extending full cooperation in the investigations. Jha, 27, was reportedly found dead at the AFTC on September 21, 2022. “The deceased UTFO had joined IAF in February 2021 and was undergoing training at AFTC. His training had been terminated on September 20, 2022, and his father was informed about it.

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, 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 statement said.

“A post-mortem was conducted on September 23, 2022. The report is awaited. A CoI by IAF is underway to establish the circumstances leading to the death of the UTFO. On September 24, 2022, his kin visited AFTC. They were briefed about the incident,” the press note added.

Following Ankit’s death, his brother Aman Jha had filed a complaint with the jurisdictional Gangammanagudi police station. The police have registered a case of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against six AFTC staff. Further investigations are on.