Army rules out handing over two officers to police

The army on Tuesday ruled out the handing over to police of two officers forcibly freed by soldiers from a police station in Kolkata after they were detained for allegedly misbehaving with women at a New Year's Eve party.

"There is no question of handing over the two officers (Major C P Singh and Captain Mahesh) to Kolkata Police since a court of inquiry is in progress," a senior defence ministry official said.

He told PTI, "If the court of inquiry feels, the two officers can be produced before Kolkata Police and taken back to army custody immediately thereafter."

Brandishing automatic weapons, a group of soldiers in uniform on Monday allegedly vandalised the Park Street police station, beat up and injured 11 policemen and forcibly freed the major and captain, who were arrested for eve-teasing while drunk on the night of December 31.

The officials said police could arrest army personnel only in cases of murder, rape and culpable homicide. The police could only detain a soldier on active service.

Kolkata Police chief Prasun Mukherjee told reporters the detective department would conduct its own inquiry into the incident.

"May be the entire matter of investigation will be taken over by the army, but we are probing the matter separately," Mukherjee said.

He said police would give a separate requisition to the army to hand over the two officers to it in the interest of the investigation.