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Indian-American says Army officer raped her

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An Indian-American woman has complained to India's Prime Minister and the President that an Indian army officer posted in the United States raped her last year.

The woman, an India-born neuropsychiatrist, brought the matter to the attention of the senior-most members in the Executive after writing to the Indian embassy in Washington. She has also written to the Chief of the Army Staff. An Army spokesperson refused to comment on the issue, but an army officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the allegations are being probed.

"An inquiry is being conducted into the allegations leveled against the Colonel. Till the inquiry is on, we cannot say anything," said a senior army officer in New Delhi.

The woman, also a single mother of a nine-year-old daughter, has raised allegations against Colonel Manoj Tiwari, who was posted as a senior commissioned Indian Army officer and military attache at the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) to the United Nations in New York. The two met sometime in 2012. Col Tiwari returned to India about six months ago after completing his UN posting. He is currently posted to the Army War College at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.

The woman said in her complaint that she met Col Tiwari on India's Republic Day celebrations at the Indian Consulate in New York. Gradually, the two became friendly and started exchanging text messages and emails, she said in her complaint. She further stated that Col Tiwari invited her for several public functions at the PMI, and tried to gain sympathy from her on account of his unsuccessful married life since he had married twice. She also said that she trusted Col Tiwari and didn't suspect him because he was an Indian Government official.

The woman has alleged that Col Tiwari raped her after giving her a sedative-laced cup of tea on the premises of the Permanent Mission of India to UN last year, according to sources. The colonel even threatened her of dire consequences, the woman has alleged. In her complaint, she said that Col Tiwari promised to marry her after she threatened to take him to court on charges of alleged sexual assault.

"The woman has claimed that she has a lot of evidence, such as the Colonel's text messages, letters and emails, and that she will produce these before the inquiry committee when required," the officer said.

Earlier...
* Four army personnel, including a major, indicted in a case of alleged sexual exploitation of women in Congo during their deployment for a United Nations mission in 2007-08.
* Three Army officers, including a Lieutenant Colonel and two Majors, were detained by the South African police after a Pretoria woman charged them with rape in May 2008. The officers were posted with North Kivu brigade of the Mission of the UN in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and were on holiday to Pretoria.

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