Bengal Govt wants action against marauding army men

Kolkata, Jan 2 (UNI) The West Bengal Government today sought the Centre's cooperation to take action in civil court against the Army officers and jawans, allegedly involved in eve teasing and attack on a police station during the new year bash in the city yesterday.

" We are sending a letter to the Centre asking for its cooperation so that we can proceed with the criminal cases against the Army men. We want to take action against them. Simultaneously the Army may also initiate departmental action against them," Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb told reporters after a high level meeting.

Besides Mr Deb, Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray and Director General of Police Anup Bhusan Vohra attended the meeting that reviewed the situation following yesterday's incident.

The Chief Secretary said the Government's letter had been prepared on the basis of a police report on the incident.

Led by a Leutenant Colonel and a Major, a section of jawans of three Madras Regiment went berserk when they invaded the city's Park Street police station in the wee hours, bashed up policemen, destroyed property and broke into the lock up to snatch away at gun point two army officers.

They were picked up by police on the charges of misbehaving with women and getting involved in a brawl with the security staff of a five-star hotel during a late night new year's revelry.

While freeing the two officers, the jawans also releaed nine people who had been arrested on the charge of eve teasing.

Clad in battle fatigue and weilding self loaded rifles, 20 jawans, who came rushing in three jeeps from Salt Lake army barracks, stormed the police station to take the policemen completely off guarded, raining blows, hitting with rifle butts and kicking them at will. While eight to ten army jawans carried out the more than half-an-hour operation, the rest of the group took position outside to prevent anybody to enter.

Police have filed separate cases against the two army officers on the basis of the complaint of a woman and hotel employees and against the group of jawans, led by two officers on the charges of attacking police station, vandalism, rioting and snatching away the arrested.

While the state Government took up the matter with the Centre, the Army authorities ordered a three-member court of inquiry into the incident. It is expected to submit a report in three days after going into the details of the incident.

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