UN probes Indian Army officer's sexual 'misconduct' in Congo

The investigation is under way at Congo, where the Indian troops are based under the UN mission, and the Army headquarters here has been informed in this regard.

Defence ministry sources said here today that Major R S Ghumman, belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles battalion, was being questioned by the probe team.

Visiting sex workers while on serving under the UN flag is barred as per the peace-keeping rules and code of conduct prescribed for the Congo mission.

The probe is being handled by the Conduct and Discipline Unit (CDU) of the UN, the sources said.

"The Army Chief and the Adjutant General's branch in the headquarters are aware of the investigations and are fully informed on the matter," they added.

Ghumman was reportedly found accompanying sex workers on July 6 while leaving a pub in North Kivu province. He was there at the pub along with a military observer from Tunisia and the two left the place with local women, according to reports reaching here.

The two were noticed with the women by an employee of the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the two officers were reportedly having an argument with them.

The OIOS employee, identified as Alexandria, promptly reported the incident to the UN mission's military police unit and a complaint was registered with the CDU on charges of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

A case for violation of curfew too was registered, as under the UN rules, officers on duty during the day should not venture out of their residential facilities at night.

The CDU also sought car log details and the vehicle was identified as one belonging to the Tunisian officer, who admitted to being with Ghumman at the hotel that night.

Ghumman is on the verge of completing his tenure in Congo and is expected back in India soon.
The Indian Army too might initiate disciplinary proceedings against him based on the CDU's probe report, the sources said.

In March 2008, three Indian peace-keepers to UN Mission in Congo were detained by Pretoria police in South Africa after a woman complained that they had raped her.

The incident had invited sharp comments from UN Secretary General Ban-ki-Moon, who had demanded "disciplinary action" against them for "sexually exploiting local women and children in Congo."

Following the remarks of the UN chief, Defence Minister A K Antony had ordered a thorough investigation into the charges. It was the fourth such "misconduct" by Indian peace-keepers in Congo that came under a probe since January that year.

The UN indictment of Indian troops in that episode of sexual abuse had surfaced in a probe report from the OIOS, which had revealed "prima-facie evidence" against a number of Indian peace-keepers previously assigned to one of the units with the UN Mission in Congo.
UN mission to Congo, which was established in late 1999, is one of the largest UN peacekeeping missions in the world and India has a Brigade-size contribution (nearly 4,000 troops) to the multi-national force serving there at present.