IAF officer penalised for unladylike actions

Squadron Leader Dr Priya Jairaj, who was tried on charges of abetment of suicide under provisions of the Air Force Act and the Indian Penal Code by a general court martial, will lose two years of seniority, a senior Air Force official of the 12th Wing here told PTI on Thursday.

The officer had also been posted to Bangalore, the official said.

Sergeant Srinivasan, 32, had committed suicide in September 2005 by hanging himself from a tree near the Air Force station in Chandigarh. Police had recovered a suicide note from him in which he had accused his superior officer Jairaj of harassment, officials said.

Police had registered a case and booked the officer on charges of abetment to suicide.

Priya is the second woman officer in the Air Force to be tried by a court martial. In 2005, the Air Force had dismissed flight Lieutenant Anjali Gupta from service on charges of corruption.