Army lieutenant general accused of molestation, probe on

NEW DELHI - An Indian Army lieutenant general has been accused of molestation by his subordinate officer’s wife. The army Thursday ordered a probe and said there were a “number of loopholes” in the complaint.

Lt. Gen. A.K. Nanda, the army’s engineer-in-chief, allegedly molested his technical secretary’s wife during a trip to Israel, the victim’s complaint said.

“There are some allegations. Preliminary investigations show that there are number of loopholes in the account of allegations. Further investigations are in progress,” an army statement said.

It also said that Lt. Gen. Nanda “has neither resigned nor (has he) been asked to put up his resignation”.

The statement came after news channels reported that Nanda had been asked to quit in the wake of the molestation charge.

Earlier Thursday, as news of the complaint broke, a senior army officer told IANS: “The (Indian Army) chief won’t tolerate such behaviour and if it is found to be true, action will be taken.”

Nanda, who has about one year of service left, has also served as the director general of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

The complaint had been lodged with Bharti Singh, the wife of Indian Army chief Gen. V.K. Singh. Bharti Singh heads the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA).

The technical secretary is now posted in Bhopal.

Nanda’s wife has described the charge against her husband as “not true” and said he “is a highly disciplined officer with a high moral character”.

“I would like to clarify that all this is not true. I vouch 100 percent for the character of my husband,” Neerja Nanda told reporters.

“He is a highly disciplined officer with a high moral character. No such incident ever happened. I would rather say that the army conduct its inquiry and the truth will prevail,” she added.

Neerja also pointed out that she had accompanied her husband to Israel when the incident is alleged to have happened.