IAS association claims Army personnel manhandled district magistrate and DSP. Army denies allegations, says cops beat up with its personnel.
New Delhi: Two days after 100 personnel of the Arunachal Scouts, an Indian Army regiment, allegedly ransacked a police station and a PWD office at Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh, the central IAS association has brought the matter to the notice of the Defence Ministry and has called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
In a letter addressed to the defence secretary Tuesday, IAS association president Rakesh Srivastava, who is the secretary at the Ministry of Women and Child Development, alleged that a battalion of the 2nd Arunachal Pradesh Scouts — led by Col. Firdosh P. Dubash and Adjutant Major Kaushik Roy — “vandalised government properties and physically assaulted the district magistrate of the area, the superintendent of the police and other officials of the Bomdila police station in the West Kameng district of the state on November 2”.
The letter goes on to add that when a woman IAS officer, Dr Sonal Swarup, who is the district magistrate-cum-deputy commissioner, ordered the Army personnel to disperse, she was “verbally abused and stone pelted”.
Srivastava has now called on authorities to ensure that the alleged perpetrators are brought to speedy justice, “so that such incidents remain an aberration in the otherwise illustrious legacy of the armed forces”.
The Army has denied the allegations, and said that it was the police who misbehaved with the commanding officer after he had gone to the police station to resolve a situation that had arisen after two soldiers were allegedly beaten up by police.
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‘Incident cause for grave concern’
Srivastava further states that the incident at Bomdila is cause for grave concern as it highlights “rampant civil-military conflicts in sensitive locations”.
The letter mentions that the use of force in an area, which has not been declared as a disturbed area, can only take place on the requisition of the district magistrate under the direct supervision of an executive magistrate as per law and procedure.
In Bomdila, none of the procedures and the law was followed by the officers and jawans of the battalion, it adds.
“If such incident is allowed to go unpunished and not deterred through prompt, form and strong action, it would only embolden such perpetrators, but also shale the basic foundation of institutions built over years,” the letter states.
On Monday, a protest march was organised on the streets of Bomdila by several groups, demanding the withdrawal of Arunachal Scouts.
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Police misbehaved with our personnel: Army
Speaking about the incident, Army sources told ThePrint that it was the police that misbehaved with the jawans.
“In fact, two jawans of 2 Arunachal Scouts were picked up by the police while they had gone to attend the Buddha Mahotsav on 2 November,” an Army source said. “They were severely beaten up in the police lock-up despite them informing the police that they were from the Indian Army.”
Sources said both soldiers have sustained serious injuries and are undergoing medical treatment in the military hospital at Tenga.
“The commanding officer tried to resolve the situation by holding a meeting with the SP Bomdila at the SP office on 3 November, when the police personnel instigated the commanding officer’s protection by misbehaving with them and using unparliamentary language,” an Army source said, adding that the situation could have been better had the on-duty police personnel behaved in a more civilised manner.
Sources, however, said an FIR and counter FIRs were lodged and the situation was resolved.
Meanwhile, a defence ministry spokesperson tweeted that the Bomdila incident was being looked into. “Incident involving Army Jawan & local police pers at Bomdila has come to light. Accusations being looked into,” the spokesperson wrote, adding, “Meanwhile, issue was discussed today at highest level in State Adm & Army. Any excesses from anyone will not be overlooked.”
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the correct name of the commanding officer as Col. Firdosh P. Dubash. The error is regretted.
IAS officers are nothing more the high headed Baboos with inflated ego. The have more damage to the country than any other class of Indiam Citizens.
It is IAS lobby which has degraded all the remining Services in a very planned manner, be it the States or the Centre. They have generated an atmosphere where the highest of any other Cader of Service is a Second Rate before them. Situation is worsening everyday.
Why the hell will the dm order the army to diperse???
So, for the army fan if this behavior by the army was justified is it not that the police behavior is justified too towards the army jawans for their public nuisance?
Shame on police services and IAS association..
What if Army starts to behave in the same fashion…. Police will have no place to run…..
really unfortunate but army has done here right to teach lesson to District Magistrate and SP who don’t even aware to behave properly with army officer. IAS officer having less knowledge about his responsibility and more ego was not able to short out this incident peacefully. this is shame of civil authority. shame for IAS nad civil servent.
Salute to Army
Jai hind
This is BS, the police misbehave with common people every day, police is not someone people like to approach for issues. They make money both ways. Police and IAS are unprofessional bunch who are trying to become power centers and want to degrade the forces. What police got from the army is what they should get from everyone who is ill-treated by the police and inefficient IAS lobby. So many people get ill-treated by the police because there is strong history of slavery for 1000s of years, we have always been at the recieving end of rulers after rulers and have always been ruled, slavery has been around for 1000s of years. Now these are not external rulers but internal forces like IPS, local Police and Civil servants who all think they are VIPs and sahabs, and continue to misbehave on roads sirens pushing people etc, lack of fair law and order system. In historically courageous nations like US UK Russia for such poor treatment of public time and again multiple cops would have been beaten up and probably attacked violently for public harassment, and they would have learnt to behave. Now owing to military training and sense of self respect the army don’t take shit sitting and give it back to the Police the hard way.. good .. police and DM and DC deserve this. For these DC and DM and SP – why should they be given cars, staff and banglows at our cost. They should wash and start their own cars, cook breakfast, feed kids, drop them to school and come to work driving themselves, be at service center to get fridge, mobile and cars serviced.. Why is Govt spending tax payer money on these people and make them different to commoners????? This is a poor nation, where is the luxury being supported from, where is the osterity? Fault lies within our civil system of inherited power centering and sahabism. With what IAS association and IPS association are doing crying and winging on getting beaten up, maybe the 13 lac strong army should also protest in new Delhi, well the protest will be a totally different ballgame and of a severe intensity. Govt is pushing the great armed forces to a corner and the results will be severe. I as a Civillian have a lot of respect for these forces. How come civil admin fail everywhere includes cleanliness, infra, sanitation, water, electricity, schools, traffic, health, railways, natural disasters, and how come where each and every place civil admin and police fail in duty, the armed forces are able to do the very same thing efficiently???? Including building railway overbridges at 1/20 the cost???
BOMDILA INCIDENT: WHO WILL STAND FOR THE SOLDIER WHO REMAINS UNHEARD AGAINST BUREAUCRATIC MIGHT!
The Bomdila incident raises serious questions on the attitude of the Civil Administration towards a Soldier who is trained and motivated to sacrifice his life on the line of duty without batting an eyelid on (verbal) orders of his Commander just as it has been quoted by Alfred Lord Tennyson – “Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die”. It is this very attribute of the Soldier that makes the Indian Army the last bastion of the Nation and has stood steadfast and bailed out the Nation from most adverse situations when all other components of the Government machinery including the IAS and IPS have failed to deliver (what they ought to and are paid for) – be it rescuing Prince from the bore well, putting Yoga mats on inaugural International Yoga Day in Delhi, construction of Rail Over Bridge (ROB) in (Parel) Mumbai, rescue & relief operations during each and every natural calamity in addition to their primary job of protecting our territorial integrity on the icy heights of Siachen and Kargil as well as elsewhere. Leading this indomitable Soldier is an Officer who lives up to the Chetwode Motto – _First, the safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time Second, the honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Third, your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time._
In the Bomdila incident, the Local Police (culprits) who wrongfully detained and brutally beat up the two soldiers of 2 Arunachal Scouts themselves have registered a fabricated and false complaint / FIR against the Army personnel. The Commanding Officer of 2 Arunachal Scouts approached the SP of Bomdila and District Collector to put across the defence of his men who had been ill-treated and brutalised by the local cops – in the true spirit and ethos of leadership in its purest form.
The District Collector with less than half the service of the Commanding Officer instead of hearing the case impartially wrote to the IAS Association as recourse to dealing with a situation that could have best been handled at a local level. The President, IAS Association instead of advising the District Collector on the correct and prudent way to handle the situation, shot off a letter to the Defence Secretary squarely putting the blame the Army personnel of 2 Arunachal Scouts. The IAS lobby’s apathy towards the Armed Forces as well as their high handedness in dealing with the Army stands exposed. Since the District Collector is also a complainant herself, she must be relieved of her assignment as District Collector and a joint and impartial investigating body needs to be constituted to investigate into the matter.
This is how a narrative is portrayed whenever the IPS and IAS lobby find themselves at fault and in the receiving end. Flooding narratives in their favour depicting what they want people to believe bso that the main concern remains hidden. It’s high time the DM and SP are taken to task for their high headedness and autocratic behaviour.
Army Police IAS they shouldvrespect each other. IAS police must learn a harsh lesson to respect Army.
How far shall bureaucracy go to mariginilize Army? Government must give a shut-up call to civil administration.
Non army is equally important as the army, this nation equally runs because of the non army
With the Indian Army any day cannot trust the IAS they have made a mess of the country.
Is lobby is the biggest threat to the country it needs to be investigated and checked of itz empowerment then needs to be taken class to respect the sacrifice which is larger than any IAS effort to dethrow the democracy for architecture of un moral rules to be legal for delebriate downgrade the Military establishment only reason India is there on map for past 70 years and definitely not even 10 percentage of the IAS babus who delebrately made mockery about everything including God needs to be youthanised as it present great threat to Indian prosperity and P. M modi should definitely make lateral entry of corporate brilliance for policy making and disarm the IAS which itself is dictatorship no place in democracy
Ours is a very third rate country.I have seen both IAS oficers and Army guys. IAS officers mostly are civilised than the Indian Army Chaps.Our Army fellows at all level with some exceptions are arrogants and selfish.These kind of things will not happen in civilised country.
It’s been well commented that the IAS babus think they are God’s and can get away with anything. But we need to understand that Babu would be Babu – they have the right to comment and take action even if they don’t understand the subject.
What, when they mete out same to the helpless common man.
We only get to hear the Police version of events. Even the media report the Police version of events. You should understand that the Arunachal police has violated the protocol by arresting the jawans rather than handing them to military police. If they had violated the protocol they deserve the retaliation by the Army. Would you expect a lion to be quite when attacked by a group of Cats?
IAS……this name is not a law maker or law broker….the two main fault done by stupid IAS are..1.why they didnt handover the soldiers to miltary police..2.if CO came to settle the situation why they didnt they cooperate with respectful manner.(they are supposed to respect a colnel rank)…all this happen due to ego of stupid IAS personnel
I think army have to beat police official..so they will be in proper track..
Normally a military person should be handed over to army authorities. Now a day’s police tends to manhandle them and keep them in police station, because they think they can get away with their act. IAS people think they are God’s themselves and can order anybody . They donot understand the ethos of armed forces. If this DM would have behaved properly with CO unit this would not have become ugly. IAS lobby like mafia gamg is running after the CO of the unit because their pride is hurt. They like pack of jackals will go after him. Let us see how army chief behaves.
Do they really need an association…I mean the all powerful IAS officers? May be the army is at fault. Is the law not sufficient to take care of civil and criminal offences based on merit? Just bcos the defence secretary happens to be from the IAS do they go to him
In this hue and cry and usual mudslinging against this great institution how can the IAS body forget the procedure..WHY WERE THE JAWANS NOT HANDED OVER TO MILITARY POLICE??where was the IPC protocol..
These generalist ISS BSBUs want everyone to be punished except themselves. They think they are the last resort for all virtues and others , all law breakers. Ignore these noises. India would have been far better without these generalist ISS.
It should not become an institutional thing. If soldiers have crossed the line, they should be disciplined / punished. The Army tends to be overly protective of its own. One would not feel proud if the police could “ rough up “ jawans.