Habitual offender, says army after soldier tortured in Pak captivity quits over 'harassment'

Dhule: Soldier Chandu Chavan, who inadvertently crossed into Pakistan in 2016, has said he is quitting the Army due to incessant “harassment” in the force.

The Army strongly rejected his charge, saying he has been a perpetual offender and five disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against him for various offences.

“Since I came back from Pakistan, I have been continuously harassed in the Army and am being looked at with suspicion, that is why I decided to quit,” he said. Chavan has sent his resignation letter to his unit commander in Ahmednagar, sources close to him have said.

In a late evening statement, the Army said Chavan was absconding from his unit following the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against him after he was found intoxicated in the unit lines recently.

It said he was declared “absent without leave” with effect from October 3 and that repeated counselling and efforts to rehabilitate him were futile because of his “lackadaisical and complacent attitude”. “The Army will under no circumstances accept indiscipline of this nature. The unit has also not received any request for premature discharge,” it said.

Chouhan was captured by Pakistan Rangers and for four months, was beaten, tortured and almost killed before being handed over to India.

Last month, he met with an accident and remained admitted in a hospital with deep injuries to his face and skull. Chavan’s four teeth broke and he also sustained abrasion below his eyebrow and left chin, as well as his upper lip.

The accident occurred when he was riding his two-wheeler without a helmet which bumped a pothole near his home town Bohrivir in Dhule district of Maharashtra.