Lt Gen Nanda not guilty of molestation

The court of inquiry (CoI) probing allegations of sexual misconduct by Lieutenant General AK Nanda is believed to have found the charges levelled against the army officer to be false. Colonel CP Pasricha, technical secretary to Nanda, had complained against his superior for alleged sexual misconduct towards his wife during an official trip to Israel in May.

The CoI is learnt to have found Nanda innocent since Pasricha failed to prove any charges against him. Nanda, engineer-in-chief  with the army, was facing an inquiry initiated by the Shimla-based Army Research and Training Command.    

General officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C), lieutenant general AS Lamba presided over the inquiry.

The CoI, which began on June 17, was adjourned for a short break. It resumed last week after Group Captain Ajay Rathore, defence attache in the Indian embassy in Israel, was summoned as a witness.    

Rathore, a Sukhoi pilot in the air force, was called since Pasricha and Nanda have carried out most of their engagements in Israel with him in attendance.

Nanda retires from service in October while Pasricha was posted to Bhopal after the complaint. Army chief General VK Singh’s wife Bharti, who is president of the Army Wives Welfare Association, met the wives of the two officers after Pasricha lodged the complaint. Nanda was later summoned by Singh for an explanation.