One of the largest air bases in the country is witnessing high drama with a senior officers wife filing a court case against two serving officers,including a Group Captain,on charges that a conspiracy was hatched to defame her husband by lodging a false police complaint. A series of events that started a month ago have evolved into a major row and at least three officers at the Agra air base,including the station head,have been posted out in recent weeks. Sources said the officers that have been posted out include a Squadron Leader and the Wing Commander whose wife has filed the defamation suit. The Air Officer in Charge (AOC) of the station,Air Commodore Sumit Banerjee,who took over charge in January,was also moved out of Agra as posting orders came in last week. While it has not been made clear whether Banerjees ouster is solely related to the drama or other factors are at play,it is unusual for an AOC to be moved out after serving barely 10 months. As per the criminal case filed in an Agra court last week,Preeti Widhani,wife of Wing Commander Vivek Widhani (a logistics officer),has alleged that Squadron Leader Ashutosh Shukla and a Group Captain Pankaj Jain posted in Agra conspired to register a false case of domestic help abuse against her husband in order to harm his career. Preeti alleged that Group Captain Jain,who is the Chief Administrative Officer of the Agra base,prompted a mess boy appointed by him to lodge a complaint to the Agra police that the Widhanis were beating up their servants and keeping them locked up. She said that in contravention to air force rules,the security officer at the base,Squadron Leader Shukla,let in a police team that raided their residence. The complaint says that after talking to the servants,the police team found nothing amiss and in an official report stated that no abuse had taken place. However,Preeti alleged that the news of the raid was made public and appeared in local newspapers and made the rounds of the air force station,causing them distress and shame. The petitioner has asked the court to summon the two officers and punish them for defamation. Sources said the matter has reached the ears of the Defence Ministry. Major in trouble for marrying Canadian NEW DELHI: Marraige with a Canadian national has landed an Army Major in trouble and he faces the prospect of dismissal. The Army has initiated an inquiry against the officer after it came to light that he had married the Indian-origin Canadian national without getting clearance from the Service. The Major,who was till recently posted with the elite National Security Guards,is facing inquiry for marrying the woman in 2010,a year after she was granted permanent Canadian citizenship,sources said. The officer allegedly did not furnish information about the status of his wife's permanent citizenship to the authorities,they said. The sources said he was allegedly in touch with the woman for quite some time before marrying her and knew about her citizenship status. The citizenship of the officer's wife was revealed after he applied for leave to go abroad to meet her,they said. After the matter came to light,the officer was repatriated from NSG to his parent unit,which is deployed in Jammu and Kashmir. The officer has admitted to the lapses on his part and is understood to have pleaded that he may be allowed to quit the service through voluntary retirement,the sources said. PTI If the officer is indicted by the inquiry,he may even be terminated from Service,they said. "Under the Army Act,officers have to seek permission from the Service before contacting foreign nationals even if he subsequently wants to marry that person,otherwise they are liable to face action," military law expert Col Rajiv Manglik said here.
