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On Army jawan's video claiming wife stripped half-naked, cops say 'exaggerated'
Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai said he felt ashamed that such an incident took place on Tamil soil. Police said the claims made in the video were exaggerated.
A video of an Army jawan surfaced online in which he claimed that his wife was beaten up by a group of men in Tamil Nadu's Thiruvannamalai. About 120 men attacked his wife at her shop and then stripped her half-naked and beat her while he was on duty in J&K, Havildar Prabhakaran said in the video. Thiruvannamalai police dismissed the allegation and said the claims made in the video were exaggerated and the jawan's wife was not attacked at all. "This was a dispute over a leased shop on a piece of land owned by Renugambal temple. The woman and her mother were at the spot when the incident happened. But the woman was not attacked at all," SP Karthikeyan said commenting on the viral video. A case has been registered and a detailed investigation has been initiated, the police said.
The video of Havildar Prabhakaran stating that his wife has been attacked was posted by a retired Army officer Lt Col N Thiagarajan. "When a soldier leaves to protect the nation, it is the highest responsibility of the government to care for the spouse and family of the soldier. The rise in such incidents in TN shows lawless condition," the retired Army officer wrote.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai said he spoke with the Havildar and ensured support to him and his wife who was admitted to a hospital. "I feel ashamed that this had happened to her on our Tamil soil!" the BJP state chief wrote.
"Had a telephonic conversation with the Havildar, who is bravely serving our country in Kashmir and his wife, based out of Tiruvannamalai. Truly gutted to hear her story & I felt ashamed that this had happened to her on our Tamil soil! Our party people are rushing to attend to her now, who is admitted to a hospital in Vellore. @BJP4TamilNadu will stand with her & our Havildar’s family in getting justice for her," Annamalai tweeted.
Army issues statement: ‘Reached out to families’
“An Indian Army soldier in uniform gave a statement fearing for the safety of his family. Army has already contacted the #Police authorities who have assured all help post investigation. One of the accused has already been arrested. Action is at hand to arrest others. The #IndianArmy accords high priority to well being of families who stay away from the soldiers deployed in field areas. In the instant case, local military authorities have reached out to the families and are also in constant touch with the civil #administration including civil police to ensure safety of the soldier's family. Police have assured safety of the family,” the statement issued by the Indian Army-Northern Command read.
