Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

AFT fines Centre, army chief ₹50L for lady officer’s death

- MANOJ KUMAR SINGH

LUCKNOW: In a landmark judgment, the Lucknow bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on eleven respondent­s, including the Union of India and chief of the army staff, in the mysterious death of a captain rank lady officer.

The tribunal directed that the cost should be deposited in the tribunal by the respondent­s within four months and released in favour of the father of the deceased through a cheque.

A division bench of justice Devi Prasad Singh (judicial member) and air marshal Anil Chopra (administra­tive member) passed the judgment allowed the petition (OA) filed by Devendra Singh Bhandari, a resident of Dehradun and father of the deceased lady officer Meenakshi.

The tribunal directed the respondent­s to provide liberalise­d family pension, gratuity, ex-gratia grant and other benefits to which she was entitled to, in accordance with the pension regulation­s (2008) and other rules and regulation­s of the Indian Air Force, within four months.

The tribunal also directed the respondent­s to investigat­e the case afresh and said it would be appropriat­e for the ministry of defence to refer the matter to an independen­t investigat­ing agency. The tribunal directed the Indian Air Force to set up a highpowere­d committee to investigat­e into the matter afresh.

The incident took place on the intervenin­g night of December 24-25, 2011, when a same-rank officer spotted captain Meenakshi in flames in her own service quarter.

She rushed her to the hospital on a motorcycle. Her family was informed immediatel­y after she was admitted to the hospital. According to the official records, she suffered 90% burn injuries and on January 24, 2012, Meenakshi’s father was informed of her death.

Citing the incident as a scene from the film ‘Ghost Rider’, the tribunal observed that the woman officer holding rank of captain in Military Nursing Service, in air force wing, died under mysterious circumstan­ces.

The tribunal said that prima facie, the death of captain Meenakshi on account of burns did not seem to be accidental.

THE TRIBUNAL DIRECTED THE RESPONDENT­S TO PROVIDE LIBERALISE­D FAMILY PENSION, GRATUITY, EXGRATIA GRANT AND OTHER BENEFITS.

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