New Delhi: The Indian Army has launched a court of inquiry against 12 officers and 39 soldiers allegedly involved in cases of sexual abuse while they were deployed as UN peacekeepers in strife-ridden Congo, an officer said Monday.
The inquiry is being held in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, where the officers and soldiers are being questioned over the sexual abuse of local women.
They are also being investigated over whether they fathered children while on a UN peacekeeping mission in 2008, the officer at the army headquarters here said. The court of inquiry is headed by a Brigadier, with two Colonels as its members, he added.
Indian features
The sexual abuse allegations emerged after DNA tests commissioned by the UN on children born to local women in Durla in the Congo showed they had "distinctive Indian features".
The UN wrote to the Indian Army requesting further investigations, with the latest reminder coming in August 2010. In January, the army asked its Chandimandir-based Western Command to order a court of inquiry and it was constituted on May 24, the officer said.
"There are some allegations and we are investigating into the issue," the officer said, adding that the army headquarters had received an inconclusive report from UN.
The inquiry is being held in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, where the officers and soldiers are being questioned over the sexual abuse of local women.
They are also being investigated over whether they fathered children while on a UN peacekeeping mission in 2008, the officer at the army headquarters here said. The court of inquiry is headed by a Brigadier, with two Colonels as its members, he added.
Indian features
The sexual abuse allegations emerged after DNA tests commissioned by the UN on children born to local women in Durla in the Congo showed they had "distinctive Indian features".
The UN wrote to the Indian Army requesting further investigations, with the latest reminder coming in August 2010. In January, the army asked its Chandimandir-based Western Command to order a court of inquiry and it was constituted on May 24, the officer said.
"There are some allegations and we are investigating into the issue," the officer said, adding that the army headquarters had received an inconclusive report from UN.
Bad people everywhere...its such a shame...
