Case against flying school instructor for molestation

Two more girls accuse him of same; Vishakha committee set up for probe

A 21-year-old student has accused a pilot instructor from Baramati’s Carver Aviation Pvt Ltd, saying it was not just she, who fell prey to his harassment, but others girls too have had garish experiences with him. A case has been registered by the police against certified flight instructor, Captain Vivek Agarwal. The police are investigating in this case.

The victim’s father informed that his daughter has been training as a commercial pilot at Carver Aviation from August 2019. There have been many instances when, while training, Agarwal allegedly tried to touch her with “wrong intention”, due to which the 21-year-old suffered mental stress. “I complained at the academy, where officials assured that action would be taken. Two other girls, who were training with my daughter, have also complained against the accused. Even as the issue was escalated, there was no response. Thus, we complained to the cops,” he said.

According to the FIR, when the 21-year-old student was undergoing flight training on February 2, 2020 — a solo lesson — when the accused placed his hand on the victim’s right hand which was on the throttle. At first, she thought that she was unable to control the aircraft and thus, Agarwal was guiding her through. The next day, during another solo lesson, Agarwal once again held her hand and then, placed it on the thigh.

The student shared her ordeal with her friends, following which the incidents were reported to deputy chief flight instructor. Two more students then came up with similar grievances that were communicated to the company’s human resource department. They were assured that an inquiry will be launched soon. However, other members of the academy soon began pressuring the girls against approaching the cops, they claimed.

Hemlata Nilakhe from the human resource department of Carver Aviation said that they have appointed Visakha committee to investigate the case. “The institute is shut till the lockdown is lifted,” she said.

Deputy sub-inspector of Baramati division, Narayan Shirgaonkar, confirmed that a complaint has been registered but no accused has been arrested yet. Agarwal has been booked under Indian Penal Code section 354-A (outraging woman’s modesty). He could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.