While the Indian Army is famous for its sexual assaults on civilians, the Indian Navy lags no far behind. Top naval officers of the Indian Navy were found to have been in a practice of exchanging their wives, Indian media reported on Friday.
A wife of navy lieutenant told an Indian newspaper on Friday that she had been molested by her husband’s seniors in the Indian navy.
An IIT-Bombay graduate, Sumedha (name changed) quit her Morgan Stanley career to get married only to see her dreams shattered within a few months. Not only did she witness her Navy officer husband in a compromising position with a senior officer’s wife but was told that she too would have to be part of the “wife-swapping evenings” if she wanted her husband to keep his job.
“When I saw my husband with the other lady I started to cry and question my husband. The woman instead shouted at me, slapped me and threatened me with dire consequences if I did not keep quiet,” the 25-year-old said.
The navy has flatly denied the allegations while Defence Minister AK Antony seeking a report on the matter.
Sumedha, who was living with her husband in Kochi, reached Delhi late on Thursday evening.
Remarkably calm and collected, she recalled how her frantic calls to the Southern Naval Command, residences of Chief of Naval Staff and the defence minister went unanswered.
Sumedha, who is preparing for her civil services exam, said 20-30 percent of naval officers are involved in the practice of wife-swapping. “There are parties everyday and the women wear very revealing clothes. Wife-swapping is common here,” she said.
When asked how she could substantiate her allegations, Sumedha said, “I know what I have seen. There has been a complaint filed earlier about wife-swapping in 2011 on INS Dronacharya but the officers involved were posted out and the issue was buried.”
Sumedha, who has filed a complaint with the Harbour Police Station in Kochi and the Vasant Vihar Police Station in Delhi, said she was molested by senior officers in the presence of her husband.
“I was made to bend down and molested my three of my husband’s colleagues. My husband then threw me out of the house,” she said.
She added that the only time her husband had shown a little remorse was when he first told her that he had to be a part of the “wife-swapping” or else he would lose his job.
“Officers and sailors, all afraid to come to my rescue because they feared being thrown out of the Navy,” she said.
When asked about allegations that she was mentally unstable, Sumedha said, “How can a marriage counsellor certify my mental fitness. Anyway, where is the proof that I even went to a counsellor?”
Upon the navy’s denial of her allegations, Sumedha said, “It doesn’t matter what they say. I know the truth. I have already asked my lawyer to take up the issue with the police.”
She also claimed that she had been offered Rs 2 crore to settle the matter.
Defence minister AK Antony has sought a report from the navy on the allegations despite the fact the naval officials have already launched a probe.
The defence minister’s office, however, said they were yet to receive a formal complaint though the lieutenant’s wife insisted that she had sent a complaint to the minister through post in the first week of March but had not received any response.
A Southern Naval Command official confirmed it had launched an investigation.
“The Chief of Naval Staff ‘s office has asked for a report based on the lady’s complaint a week ago,” the official said.
In a statement, the navy said, “The wife of the officer has levelled unfair allegations against superior officers in her husband’s chain of command, their spouses and other officers who have interacted with her. These officers accompanied by their respective spouses had tried unsuccessfully to resolve the issues dogging the couple’s personal life. Unfortunately, the lady had resorted dragging her estranged spouse’s colleagues into the vortex of their unhappy relationship. The couple was also sent to a marriage counsellor under the aegis of the Navy Wives Welfare Association.”