Capt Abhilasha Barak becomes Indian Army's first woman combat aviator
New Delhi, May 25: Captain Abhilasha Barak on Wednesday became the first woman combat aviator in the Indian Army.
Officials said she has been awarded the coveted 'wings' along with 36 Army pilots by the director-general of the Army Aviation during a ceremony held at Combat Army Aviation Training School in Nashik.
"Captain Barak became the first woman officer to join the Army Aviation Corps as combat aviator after successful completion of the combat Army aviation course," an official said.
She hails from Haryana and was commissioned into the Army Air Defence Corps in September 2018.
The combat aviator is the daughter of Col S Om Singh (Retd).
Captain Abhilasha has done a number of professional military courses before joining the Army Aviation Corps, said the official.
The Army Aviation Corps is a component of the Army that was formed in November 1986. The Corps is headed by a Lt Gen rank officer known as Director General of Army Aviation.
Over the years, the corps has expanded exponentially with the addition of new units and state of the alt equipment like Cheetah Dhruv, Rudra light combat helicopter and remotely piloted aircraft.
With the motto 'Swift and Sure', the youngest corps of the Indian Army is set to further grow in its tactical importance in the battlefield to take further its role of force multiplier.
The three services have gradually opened up key postings for women in the last few years.
In 2018, flying officer Avani Chaturvedi of the Indian Air Force scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo. She flew a MiG-21 bison in her first solo flight.
Chaturvedi was part of a three-member women team commissioned as flying officers in July 2016, less than a year after the government decided to open the fighter stream for women on an experimental basis.
In 2020, the Navy announced deploying its first batch of women pilots on the Dornier maritime aircraft.
In a significant move, the Army in 2019 began the process of inducting women into the military police.
The role of the military police includes policing cantonments and army establishments, preventing breach of rules and regulations by soldiers, and maintaining the movement of soldiers as well as logistics during peace and war.
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Mumbai court clerk caught by ACB taking Rs 15L; additional sessions judge named in FIR
Mumbai: A clerk at Mazgaon Civil and Session Court, Chandrakant Vasudev (40), was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday for accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from a Bandra businessman for a favourable verdict in a land dispute case.
The ACB officials said on Wednesday that additional sessions judge, Aejazuddin S Kazi (55), has been named in the FIR filed in the case and shown as wanted by the Bureau.
Both Vasudev and Judge Kazi have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The officials have added that the businessman had been asked initially to give a total of Rs 25 lakh, as Rs 15 lakh for the judge and Rs 10 lakh for the clerk. After negotiations, the amount was reduced to Rs 15 lakh.
The clerk Vasudev was produced in court and sent to judicial custody for five days.
ACB Assistant Commissioner of Police Manisha Zende has said that Kazi was booked after Vasudev confirmed the judge’s role in the graft. The clerk had called the judge when he was caught by the ACB team and informed Kazi that he had received the money, she added. The official, however, said that Kazi was yet to be arrested and remains a wanted accused.
In April 2016, the Bombay High Court had stayed the creation of third-party rights on the disputed land. As the land’s valuation was below ₹10 crore, the commercial suit was transferred to the Civil Sessions Court in Mazgaon.
On September 9, 2025, an office associate of the complainant received a call from Vasudev when he was at Court No 14 of the Civil Sessions Court, the ACB stated.
Vasudev is said to have met the complainant in suburban Chembur, where he demanded ₹25 lakh. After the complainant refused to pay the huge amount, Vasudev allegedly called him repeated to demand the bribe, which prompted the complainant to approach and file a complaint with the ACB on November 10.
As instructed by the ACB, the complainant met Vasudev on the court premises and agreed to pay ₹15 lakh. Vasudev called Judge Kazi to inform him about the payment, and the judge allegedly acknowledged the bribe, after which, the clerk was apprehended and arrested by the ACB officials.
Further investigation is underway, the official said.
