Times of India (India): Army probe on against doctor for deserting Afghan woman

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Army_probe_on_against_doctor_for_deserting_Afghan_woman/articleshow/3979459.cms

Army probe on against doctor for deserting Afghan woman
14 Jan 2009, 2345 hrs IST, TNN

NEW DELHI: The Army is conducting a full-fledged inquiry into the case of young Afghan translator Sabra Khan, who has alleged that she was deceived
by an Indian Army doctor who first married her in Afghanistan and then abandoned her.

Army chief General Deepak Kapoor on Wednesday said an inquiry was in progress to get to the bottom of the case. "The Army does not believe in shielding any perpetrator for any act of corruption, indiscipline or wrongdoing,'' he said.

But, at the same time, Gen Kapoor said there was "a bit of dichotomy'' in Sabra Khan's FIR and Army records. For instance, Sabra has stated in her FIR that the Army doctor, Major Chandrasekhar Pant, married her in December 2006 when he was posted at the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul, which is run by the Indian mission there.

"But our records show the officer was in Afghanistan from January to November only,'' said General Kapoor. A thorough investigation would also require the presence of witnesses from Afghanistan, a matter which will have to be worked out through diplomatic channels between the two countries.

Nevertheless, Gen Kapoor said, "Our inquiry is in progress. We have never hesitated in taking appropriate disciplinary action against any Army man who is at fault.''

As reported by TOI earlier, 21-year-old Sabra recently arrived in India to hunt for Major Pant, who is now posted at the Army hospital in Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand.

Rejected by Major Pant, who is married with two children, Sabra has met home minister P Chidambaram and registered a complaint with the National Commission for Women in her search for justice.