IAF demonstrated operational capability along northern border, says IAF chief
Commends air warriors for quick response in Ladakh row
Hindon (Ghaziabad): The Indian Air Force has clearly demonstrated its resolve, operational capability and will to effectively engage with the adversary whenever the need arises, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said on Thursday, and commended the air warriors for their prompt response in the recent standoff on the northern frontier in view of the bitter border row with China.
In an address on the occasion of the 88th anniversary of the IAF, Bhadauria also assured the nation that the force will evolve and be ever ready to safeguard India's sovereignty and interests in all circumstances.
Talking about security challenges in eastern Ladakh, the Chief of Air Staff commended the air warriors for their prompt response in the recent standoff, and talked about rapid deployment of combat assets at short notice to handle any eventuality.
"We have clearly demonstrated our resolve, operational capability, and the will to effectively engage the adversary, should the need arise," he said after inspecting the Air Force Day parade at the Hindon air base .
"I would like to commend all warriors for the quick response, in the recent standoff on our northern frontiers, when we deployed our combat assets at short notice to handle any eventuality, and provided proactive support to all the requirements of deployment and sustenance for the Indian Army," Bhadauria said.
The Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a bitter border row for the past five months in eastern Ladakh and the IAF has made significant deployment in the region.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh greeted the IAF on its foundation day, and said the government is committed to enhance its combat capability of the force.
"The nation is proud of its men and women in blue and salutes the prowess of the IAF as it stands ready to face challenges and deter adversaries. We remain committed to enhancement of IAF's combat capability through modernisation and indigenisation," he said.
In his address, the Chief of Air Staff also cautioned of the evolving "threat matrix" in the region, and said it mandates a greater need to have a strong air force to fight across domains and the entire spectrum of warfare.
"The evolving threat matrix in our region is becoming complex, ranging from aspirational adversaries with huge investments in military arsenal, to those collusively supported by nonstate actors, apart from growing sub-conventional threats emanating from terrorism and cyber space," he said.
Bhadauria said disruptive technologies and easy access to low cost options like drones are increasingly demanding greater attention to the sub-conventional domain.
The IAF also carried out a spectacular air display at the event, showcasing its vintage aircraft and modern fleet including the recently-inducted Rafale jets.
The IAF chief said notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic, the force has maintained its capacity to undertake full scale operations as it took proactive measures to counter the spread of COVID-19.
"The tenacity and resolve of our air warriors ensured that the IAF continued to retain its capability and capacity to undertake full scale operations, throughout this period," he said.
Bhadauria also talked about the IAF's culture and ethos of team work and told the air warriors that "it will help you to overcome temptation if any to seek personal glory, while in service or beyond."
He also called creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff and Department of Military Affair as "landmark step" towards increasing tri-service effectiveness, coordination and overall combat capabilities of the armed forces.
"We are working proactively towards setting up joint command structures.
The formation of air defence command is spearheading the envisaged tri-service commands, and it will further optimise all available air defence resources and be supported with a robust decision making structure, and this is at an advanced stage," he said.
On modernisation of the IAF, he said the vision is to continue to comprehensively scale up the combat capability, and be a force to reckon with across the entire sphere of influence through careful force structuring and acquisition of indigenous equipment.
"The recent induction of state of the art Rafale, Chinook and Apache aircraft, have added significantly to our combat capability over our adversaries on the battlefield," Bhadauria said.
"Our offensive strike capability has been honed further, with upgrades of our aircraft with weapons and sensors, ably supported by a networked decision making matrix," he added.
The Chief of Air Staff also talked about the IAF's full support towards the government's self-reliance initiative, and said the force is rapidly shifting to indigenous equipment and platforms.
He also mentioned induction of a large number of indigenously developed platforms like Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Netra airborne early warning and control system, Akash surface-to-air missile systems and BrahMos missiles.
The Chief of Air Staff also mentioned the introduction of an electronic maintenance management system in the IAF for all its flying platforms and combat assets.
"This is virtually the world's largest such maintenance monitoring system, across various types of platforms and the numbers," he added.
On future requirements, he highlighted efforts to develop an indigenous combat system with sixth generation technologies, and mentioned plans to develop directed energy weapons, optionally manned combat platforms, swarm drones and hypersonic weapons.
"The space domain is likely to become increasingly important in future years, and is being given the required thrust. I want all air warriors to understand the importance of the decade ahead, and work proactively towards making Indian Air Force the engine of growth of our indegenous aerospace industry," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi horror: IRS officer's daughter raped, murdered by former househelp
New Delhi (PTI): A 22-year-old IIT graduate and daughter of a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer was allegedly raped and murdered at her residence by their former househelp in southeast Delhi's upscale Kailash Hills locality on Wednesday morning, hours after he sexually assaulted another woman in Rajasthan's Alwar.
Rahul Meena, the 19-year-old domestic help who had worked with the family for around eight months and was sacked around a month ago, has been arrested for the crime, police said this evening.
The woman, who was preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination, was alone in her house at the time of the incident and was found murdered in a room by her family members when they returned from the gym, they said.
Preliminary inquiry suggests the woman was sexually assaulted before being strangled to death using a mobile phone charger cable, the police said, adding they are waiting for the postmortem report for confirmation of sexual assault.
ALSO READ: Rahul meets Youth Cong workers arrested for 'shirtless protest' at AI meet, calls them 'babbar sher'
The police also said they have detained two persons -- a car cleaner in the area, and a househelp in the neighbourhood -- for questioning.
A senior police officer said that the victim's parents would lock the house in the morning and leave the keys outside for their domestic help.
Meena was aware of the location of the keys and allegedly used them to enter the house on Wednesday. The accused was familiar with the household, including its layout and the daily routine of the family members.
He knew when the victim's parents would step out for their walk or gym sessions.
Meena, a native of Rajasthan, had been removed from his job around a month ago for alleged misappropriation of daily purchase bills, the officer said after preliminary investigation.
An official said that the victim was alone at the residence at the time of the incident, adding that the accused entered the house around 6 am, attacked the woman and sexually assaulted her. She was allegedly hit with a stick, inflicting significant blunt force trauma on her face and head.
Subsequently, the attacker strangled her using a mobile charging cable before fleeing the spot. The police also said there is no information about the verification of the accused when he was hired.
The sources said the victim put up a strong resistance, following which the accused struck her on the head with a stick to overpower her before strangling her with a charging cable.
The police suspect the crime was committed between 6 am and 7 am, a time likely chosen as two other domestic workers usually arrive later in the day.
A police source said that after the incident, the family members immediately checked CCTV footage and saw Meena entering their building and going to the third floor of the house belonging to the victim.
The family has already handed over the entire CCTV footage to the police.
The police said the suspect was also seen on a nearby street camera carrying a backpack.
They said Meena is also wanted in a sexual assault case in Rajasthan's Alwar.
"A case against the accused was registered on Wednesday. He committed the offence on April 21 with a woman in Rajgarh and fled from Alwar, around 170 km from here, to Delhi.
"An FIR has been registered at the Rajgarh Police Station against him. We are in contact with the Delhi Police, and a team of the Delhi Police has also visited here to question his family members," an officer in Alwar told PTI.
The police earlier said Meena, who was seen outside the house even a few days ago, was missing since the incident, and a manhunt has been launched to trace and apprehend him.
"We are examining all possible angles and gathering evidence," a senior police official said.
The police received information about the incident around 9 am from the victim's parents, who alleged that their former domestic help was involved in the killing of their daughter.
The police said that the woman had completed engineering and was preparing for the civil services examination.
"What we have got to know is that after committing the crime in Rajasthan, he fled from there and came to Delhi. He directly reached here in Kailash Hills. He knew the exact point where girls' parents would hide keys when they would step out for the gym.
"He entered the house when one of the security guards had gone either to attend nature's call or for tea. After committing the crime, he fled towards the jungle side. We are also investigating if the accused changed his clothes just before fleeing," a police officer privy to the investigation told PTI.
CCTV cameras were installed at the entrance of the victim's room, with the live feed accessible on both the victim's and her father's mobile phones, said the officer.
Earlier, the police said that it was suspected that the accused fled with the mobile phone of the victim. They said that more than 20 teams of different units and police stations were working on the case.
The brutal incident has sent shockwaves across the upscale residential locality. Locals expressed concern over safety and security in these neighbourhoods.
Greater Kailash MLA Shikha Roy said the victim was a bright and talented young woman with a promising future, and her death is a painful loss for the entire community.
"I have known her personally for several years and have seen her grow up as a sincere, disciplined and exceptionally talented girl. She was brilliant in her studies, had completed engineering from IIT Delhi, and was preparing for the UPSC examination with great determination.
"She was an equally good dancer and other cultural activities, and despite being deeply focused on her studies, she remained humble and connected with people around her," Roy said.
A case has been registered, and forensic teams have collected evidence from the crime scene.
Some recent cases involving househelps:
- A horrifying double murder rocked Delhi's Lajpat Nagar locality in 2025, where a mother and her 14-year-old son were found brutally murdered inside their home. Both victims had their throats slit by their domestic help.
- Delhi Police in 2024 filed a chargesheet in the case of a 63-year-old doctor's murder in his home in south Delhi's Jangpura. Police named three persons as accused. Among them was a domestic help. They were charged under sections of murder, robbery and criminal conspiracy.
- A 17-year-old domestic worker was apprehended and her associate was arrested by the Delhi Police for the murder-robbery of a 66-year-old woman in her house in Dwarka in 2023.
