Complaint against 4 Army officers for assaulting jawan

“I received a phone call from my husband at 1.30 am on Sunday night asking me to come over to the army unit immediately. Leaving my young children alone at home, I walked three km to reach the spot at that hour and found him in a pool of blood. When I insisted that he should be shifted to another hospital as the Army hospital did not even have a medical assistant at that hour, the officers manhandled me,” she alleged.

Singh was taken to the Marudhar Hospital that night and shifted to SMS the next morning. “Going against medical advice, the Army officers forcibly shifted my husband back to the Army hospital and threatened me with dire consequences if I reported the matter to the police or media,” Kanwar alleged. “Such incidents are common in the mess where officers in an inebriated condition treat jawans poorly but no action is taken against them. In most cases, the incident is hushed up.”

The Army, however, denied that the officers were alone to be blamed and said that Singh was as much at fault and was himself in an inebriated condition. “The jawan was drunk while on duty and when the officers protested, he misbehaved with them. A scuffle broke out in which the jawan was injured. A court of inquiry has been ordered and action will be taken against whoever is found guilty,” said defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Manish Ojha.

Singh’s medical report at the Marudhar Hospital revealed ‘mild to moderate right perinephric hematoma’. Hospital authorities said he had arrived in a critical condition and the injury to his kidneys were serious. He is currently admitted to the intensive care unit of the Army hospital and his condition is stated to be serious.