India News | Pune: Two Officers Among Seven Army Personnel Booked for 'attacking' Naik-rank Staffer

Pune, Feb 24 (PTI) Pune police have registered an offence against seven Army personnel, including two officers, after a Naik-rank staffer accused them of allegedly attacking him, keeping him in confinement and harassing him physically and mentally, an official said on Thursday.

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A defence statement, however, termed the complaint filed against the military personnel as "ill-motivated".

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Police said the alleged incident had taken place on July 6 last year and a complaint in this regard was lodged at Khadki police station.

The complaint was filed by 34-year-old Army personnel of Naik rank, who alleged that two senior Army officers and five other personnel accused him of illegally selling military quota liquor from the CSD canteen, meant for defence service personnel, in the civil market, the police added.

As per the FIR, the complainant alleged that the Army personnel hit him with an iron rod, kept him in a confinement detention cell for 20 days and harassed him physically and mentally.

A statement from defence, however, termed the complaint as "ill-motivated". It said that the complainant had been caught by the military police red-handed while trying to sell the military quota liquor meant for defence service personnel in the civil market.

"When investigated further, the Naik was found involved in corruption and malpractices by his parent unit. An independent senior officer-led inquiry found him guilty of serious corruption charges," it said.

As an afterthought, the Army personnel had submitted a complaint to Khadki police on November 16, 2021, alleging torture by Army officials, the statement said.

"Investigation officer of Khadki police station was then apprised of the factual position of the case, including the fact that few of the officials named in the complaint were on leave and not present on duty. Allegations were also levelled against the officer who was not even posted at the time of the alleged incident," it added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)