NEW DELHI: Four soldiers, including a major and a junior commissioned officer, have been indicted by the Army court of inquiry (CoI) into the sexual misconduct allegations levelled against Indian troops while deployed in a UN peace-keeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007-2008.
Incidentally, a group of retired military officers and civil activists earlier this year had tried to unsuccessfully use the infamous case to scuttle the appointment of General Bikram Singh as the new Army chief after General V K Singh on May 31.
They had accused Gen Bikram Singh of "command failure" since he was the UN deputy force commander in the Democratic Republic of Congo when the Indian troops deployed in the North Kivu province of the Central African nation were accused of the sexual exploitation of women, including four minors. The government, however, had given Gen Bikram Singh a clean chit.
On Wednesday, Gen Bikram Singh said the CoI into the case had recommended disciplinary action (court martial) against only one jawan, whose DNA sample had matched with one of the children fathered by Indian soldiers in Congo.
The other three indicted by the CoI, including the major and the JCO from the 6 Sikh regiment, will face the much milder administrative action for "command and control failure". The Army had ordered the CoI in May, 2011, only after the UN had communicated to the Indian government that a thorough probe was required in the matter.
Major among four indicted for DR Congo sex scandal
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Major among four indicted for DR Congo sex scandal
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Major among four indicted for DR Congo sex scandal
