Army veteran demands ADM's dismissal, arrest

A retired Army colonel in Noida who is engaged in a bitter spat with an additional district magistrate of the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday demanded arrest of the suspended official and alleged delay in police probe.

Colonel (retd) Virendra Pratap Singh Chauhan was arrested on August 14 on the charges of molestation levelled by the ADM's wife, following a spat between the two sides over alleged illegal construction by the ADM's family.

Chauhan, while in jail, had filed a counter-complaint accusing the ADM, his wife, his son and three others of assault and attempt to murder.

The episode witnessed a new twist when a CCTV footage emerged, purportedly showing the ADM and his supporters assaulting of Chauhan, who was later granted bail by the court.

"This ADM should be dismissed from the service, he is a shameless man using his wife in this case. No one, even if poor, would not do it," Chauhan said at a press conference at the same park in Sector 29 where he was allegedly assaulted on August 14.

The 76-year-old demanded that the cases against him, including molestation and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, be dropped immediately.

Flanked by other Army veterans, he alleged that his cook, Hairsh Lal (24), who belongs to the same community as the ADM, was also assaulted by the ADM's acquaintances, but the police are not filing his complaint separately.

He added that the ADM and his wife should be arrested for getting this "false and disgusting" case lodged and "got me defamed across the country".

Meanwhile, the ADM's wife also interacted with the press in the afternoon, just minutes before the Army veteran's conference at the same park.

She alleged that the retired colonel wanted to abduct her on the morning of August 14 and had used casteist slurs against her.

The woman accused Chauhan of harassing her over the past four years. "On the day of the incident, my husband had come to protect me. What wrong did he do by protecting his wife that he has been suspended from the service?" she asked.

She said the family had returned to their house in Sector 29 after 20 days and her children were traumatised by the whole episode. "The whole family is feeling unsafe here and we would soon relocate elsewhere."
Asked about the charges levelled by the ADM's wife, Chauhan refuted the claims. "The ADM is sitting at his home, while others named in the FIR are also roaming freely and I wonder why the police are not taking any action against him."
Citing his military career, he remarked, "This is an insult to the Army."