Army court-martial awards five-year jail term to Army officer in child abuse case

Ferozepur (Punjab) [India], October 15 : An Indian Army General Court Marital has recommended a five-year jail term and cashiering from service as punishment to a Major who was found guilty on charges of sexual harassment involving an 11-year-old girl.
The General Court Martial found the allegations levelled by the mother of the victim to be correct and awarded a five-year jail term along with cashiering from service to the Major who was posted in the Delhi Cantonment at the time of the incident, sources said.
The victim is the daughter of the house help who was living in the servant quarters of the officer's official accommodation.
The court martial was convened by the 7 Infantry Division Commander Maj Gen Y Sheoran earlier this year.
The punishment has been awarded to the officer under sections 10 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), the sources further said.
Defending his client, Advocate Anand Kumar alleged that the disciplinary proceedings against the officer in the court of inquiry and summary of evidence were tampered with and it had been brought to the notice of the court martial authorities in the trial.
The counsel claimed that they had requested to summon the officer recording the summary of evidence but it was declined by the court.
The defence counsel also claimed that their plea to examine the mobile phones of the parents of the victim was also not granted.
Indian Army officials said that the force has a zero-tolerance policy against such activities and the Army headquarters has instructed the formations to take strictest possible action against personnel found guilty in such cases.