According to the police, the colonel reached the park in Sector-29 with three more persons and they molested the lady and also passed derogatory remarks about her caste.
After the arrest of a retired colonel, Virender Chauhan, over the alleged molestation of a government official’s wife, many retired army officers and members of Arun Vihar RWAs came out in support of the ex-officer. They claimed that the charges levelled against him are false and demanded a judicial investigation in the case.
They organised a press conference in Arun Vihar club in Sector-37 where ex-army officers supported the retired colonel and demanded justice in the case. The police arrested the retired colonel on Tuesday.
According to the police, the colonel reached the park in Sector-29 with three more persons and they molested the lady and also passed derogatory remarks about her caste. According to Manish Saxena, Station officer of the Sector-20 police station, an FIR was registered under various IPC sections and sections of SC/ST prevention of atrocities act.
“Colonel Virender was a brave officer of the first para regiment and he was injured during the famous battle of Haji Pir in 1965. During the 1971 Bangladesh war, he led a troop of the army. Chauhan had also a major contribution in the operation of the capture of Siachen Glacier,” said army officers.
“He was also the Aide-De-Camp (ADC) of the army chief and was also appointed as the principal of the Indian Institute of Mountaineering and Skiing. He received 16 medals for gallantry and other services,” army officers added.
The officers also said that the colonel had also contributed to the social sector. After his retirement, he also imparted free army training to the new recruits in Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Mau and other eastern schools.
Retired colonel SK Vohra told City Spidey that Virender Chauhan was having a dispute about the illegal occupation and construction done by Harish Chandra (husband of the lady) for last 3 years.
Chandra is his neighbour in Sector-29. He is currently the ADM in Muzaffarnagar. He was also an officer of Noida Authority in the past. Colonel Virender had lodged a complaint several times in Noida Authority regarding illegal occupation and construction but Noida Authority did not take any action on Chandra due to his clout.
“The family of colonel lived in another country whereas he lived in his flat with his domestic worker. On August 14, the retired colonel was sitting in front of the park and was waiting for the cab to go to Agra. Chandra reached the park with his wife Usha. They were accompanied by Chandra’s security guards,” said Vohra.
“They started abusing the colonel. After that, they themselves called the police. The whole incident is captured on CCTV camera. Despite this, the police arrested the colonel without any proper investigation. The police officer also took his phone and he was not allowed to talk to anyone,” Vohra added.
Vohra requested the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to order a judicial inquiry into the whole incident.
“The illegal construction done by Chandra should be demolished by the Authority and an income tax inquiry should also be put against him. We demand that Manish Saxena, station officer of Sector-20 police station and Anil Kumar, circle officer-1, should be dismissed from the duty because they did not check the CCTV footage before taking action,” Vohra said.
