DGCA ex-flying training director, 4 aviation firms booked for corruption
India: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Captain Anil Gill, former Director of Flying Training at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and four aviation-linked firms for alleged corruption, regulatory favouritism and criminal conspiracy.
The FIR, filed by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch, names Gill along with Bluethroat Aero Global Pvt Ltd, Redbird Aviation Academy Pvt Ltd, Sabres Corporate Solutions Pvt Ltd and Sandhills Aviation IFSC Pvt Ltd. Unknown public servants and private persons have also been named. The case has been registered under Sections 11 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the FIR, Gill allegedly abused his official position to extend undue favours to select Flying Training Organisations causing financial loss and disadvantage to similarly placed operators. The agency has alleged that a network of companies controlled by Gill’s immediate and extended family members was used to procure training aircraft at nominal prices and then lease them to favoured FTOs at high rates, generating illicit gains.
Bluethroat Aero Global Pvt Ltd (BAGPL), incorporated in 2016 with Gill’s mother and maternal aunt as directors (later joined by his cousin and sister-in-law), is said to have acquired two Cessna aircraft for Rs.10 lakh and Rs.37.5 lakh. These were subsequently leased to Redbird Aviation Academy with approvals allegedly granted by Gill in his regulatory capacity. Between 2021 and October 2023, BAGPL reportedly earned more than Rs.2.16 crore in lease rentals from Redbird alone.
The FIR also points to regulatory favouritism, noting that Redbird Aviation Academy received its initial FTO approval in just over a month, while competing entities allegedly waited four to six months. It further alleges that Gill, as chair of a selection committee in September 2022, appointed his cousin Vikas Nain as Deputy Chief Flying Instructor at Redbird, where he received a monthly salary of around ₹6.5 lakh.
