New Delhi: An Army court of inquiry on Monday found a top armed forces official guilty of sexual harassment of his subordinate woman officer and would be tried by a court martial.
Major General A K Lal, who was the General Officer Commanding the crucial 3 Infantry Division in Leh when this case was reported, was found guilty of charges levelled by Captain Neha Rawat. The case was filed in September this year.
Lal, who had been attached to Srinagar-based 15 Corps after the complaint by Rawat to ensure the process is fair and objective, was tried by a court of inquiry headed by Corps Commander Lt Gen A S Shekhon.
Defence sources told PTI that General Lal has been reverted to Leh-based 14 Corps to face court martial proceedings and summary of evidence in the case.
Rawat had alleged that she had been sexually harassed during yoga classes on several occasions. However, Lal's family in Chandigarh had dismissed the allegations and instead lay the blame on Rawat, saying her personal conduct had all along been unworthy of an officer.
“This particular lady officer has been reprimanded in the past for personal misconduct and alcoholism. She was even caught by the military police when she was found being with multiple partners (sic) late in the night,” daughter of Maj Gen AK Lal, Shilpi Lal had told CNN-IBN in September.
According to sources Rawat’s parents wrote a letter of complaint regarding Lal’s conduct to the Army Commander in Leh.
The then Indian Army chief, Gen JJ Singh, who was on a visit to Srinagar on the day the complaint was filed, had immediately issued orders to initiate action against Lal on the basis of Rawat's complaint.
Defence Minister AK Antony also had sought a report on Rawat's charge.
Past tense for the Army
Lal is the second major general ranking officer to be tried this year. Earlier, a major general in Jaipur-based Western Army Command was charged by CBI for allegedly possessing property disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The action against Lal comes as the new Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor has made it clear that he wants to crackdown on all cases of indiscipline and corruption in the Army.
The tragic suicide of Army officer Sushmita Chakravarty last year, Flying Officer Anjali Gupta levelling similar charges and the Army Vice-Chief in 2006 kicking up a controversy by saying the Army could do without women are examples of the low comfort level the force has with the women officers.
Reeling under a spate of incidents involving its women cadre and this latest one concerning Rawat just goes on to show how deep the problem is within the armed forces.
(With agency inputs)
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