Armed Forces Tribunal confirms Army officer dismissal

Chennai: The regional bench of the armed forces tribunal, Chennai, on Wednesday upheld the dismissal order of a 32-year-old Army officer currently in prison for attempting to molest a captain who had treated him at a military hospital. M. Sathesh Kumar, 32, is believed to have used criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty at a hospital in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir.

But Kumar’s father, M. Mahalingam of Narayanapuram, in Vellore district, had submitted a petition claiming his son was facing false charges. The father maintains his son is innocent and that he has not committed any crime. Kumar, 32, enlisted on July 30, 2002. He was unwell for a few months and was treated in hospitals at different places. On August 15 last year, he visited a military hospital for treatment at Kupwara and the Army claims it’s here that Kumar committed the offence.

While sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for a year and six months, the district court martial had also dismissed Kumar from service. According to the military’s version, Kumar went to the military hospital complaining of body ache on August 14.

The next day, he returned to the hospital and visited the M.I. Room. But the on-duty medical officer Capt Roja (name changed) found nothing wrong with him and prescribed a few medicines. And when the medical officer was alone, Kumar misbehaved with her and attempted to outrage her modesty.