New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) In an embarrassing development, some personnel of the Indian Army are facing allegations of sexually exploiting women in Congo during their deployment under a UN mission, prompting a Court of Inquiry (CoI) to detect and punish the guilty.
The UN had communicated to the Indian government the allegations against the personnel of 6 Sikh battalion during their deployment in 2007-08.
Subsequently, a CoI was ordered last month under a Brigadier to look into these allegations , Army sources said here.
The probe is on in Meerut at the moment and has two Colonel-rank officers also as its members, they said. The UN mission to Congo, which was established in late 1999, is one of the largest UN peacekeeping missions in the world and India had a brigade-size contribution (nearly 4,000 troops) to the multi-national force serving there at that time.
Last year also, an inquiry was launched against a Major who was allegedly found in the company of sex workers in a hotel in Congo.
In March 2008, three Indian peace-keepers to UN Mission in Congo were detained by Pretoria police in South Africa after a woman complained that they had raped her.
The UN indictment of Indian troops in that episode of sexual abuse had surfaced in a probe report, which had revealed "prima-facie evidence" against a number of Indian peace-keepers previously assigned to one of the units with the UN Mission in Congo. PTI
The UN had communicated to the Indian government the allegations against the personnel of 6 Sikh battalion during their deployment in 2007-08.
Subsequently, a CoI was ordered last month under a Brigadier to look into these allegations , Army sources said here.
The probe is on in Meerut at the moment and has two Colonel-rank officers also as its members, they said. The UN mission to Congo, which was established in late 1999, is one of the largest UN peacekeeping missions in the world and India had a brigade-size contribution (nearly 4,000 troops) to the multi-national force serving there at that time.
Last year also, an inquiry was launched against a Major who was allegedly found in the company of sex workers in a hotel in Congo.
In March 2008, three Indian peace-keepers to UN Mission in Congo were detained by Pretoria police in South Africa after a woman complained that they had raped her.
The UN indictment of Indian troops in that episode of sexual abuse had surfaced in a probe report, which had revealed "prima-facie evidence" against a number of Indian peace-keepers previously assigned to one of the units with the UN Mission in Congo. PTI
