Ex IAF officer kills self

A dismissed flying officer of Indian Air Force, Anjali Gupta, 35, committed suicide in Bhopal. She was staying with a family in the Shahpura locality. Few years back, Anjali had created ripples in the IAF when she had leveled allegations of sexual harassment against her superiors.

Investigating officer GS Jagait told TOI that Anjali had come to Bhopal on September 7 and had stayed with Group Captain Amit Gupta. A resident of Bhopal, Gupta is posted in Nagpur.

The next day Gupta had left for Delhi for the engagement of his son and Anjali was alone in the house in Bhopal. She used a dupatta to hang herself from ceiling fan of her room, he informed.

Anjali, who was dismissed from the Air Force after a general court marshal proved charges against her, was doing a private job in Bangalore, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Singh Bhadoria said adding, she was on way to the city when she broke her journey in Bhopal to stay for a day with Amit Gupta.

Police said that Amit and his family had returned Bhopal on September 10 night and when they reached home, she did not open the door. Thinking that she might be sleeping, they spent the night in a relative's home in Arera Colony locality. Next morning when she did not open the door, Amit called up police.

"We had to broke open the door as it was locked from inside only to find her hanging from the ceiling fan," the investigating officer informed.

A general court martial of the Indian Air Force in 2005 had found Anjali guilty on five counts, including those of indiscipline, insubordination, and financial irregularity, and recommended that she be cashiered - dishonorably discharged - from service.

Upholding the ruling of the court martial, the then Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi issued an executive order terminating her service.

However, the then Air Chief in his order had reduced her sentence from "cashiering to mere dismissal". On being cashiered, an armed forces officer is stripped of his/her rank.

Anjali's body has been sent for post mortem and the police are further investigating the case.