The Navy is increasingly finding itself in troubled waters. Just a couple of days after Defence Minister AK Antony sacked a Commander, found guilty of having illicit relations with his senior officer’s wife, the Navy on Monday dismissed another Commander from service after he was found guilty by a court martial in Mumbai of sending lewd messages to women inside and outside the force.
The dismissals on count of immoral acts come even as the Navy grapples with the wife swapping scandal involving senior officers in Kochi.
Giving details of the latest dismissal, officials said Commander RV Desai was dismissed on charges of conduct unbecoming of an officer. They said the officer was using multiple numbers to send lewd messages to several women both in and out of the force.
The officer was posted on aircraft carrier INS Virat and was recommended for dismissal by the court martial in January this year. The Naval Headquarters scrutinised the recommendations and concurred with the court martial and sacked him last week.
Navy spokesman PV Satish said, “The Navy reserves harshest of punishment for any conduct unbecoming of any officer. Moreover, as a service that values women any misconduct with women is taken most seriously.”
This action comes against the backdrop of the Navy trying to save its image after the wife of an officer alleged wife-swapping and torture by her husband and senior officers at Kochi last week.
The Navy so far has rubbished the woman’s charges and maintained that there is no merit in allegations even as she filed an FIR with the police in Kochi. Antony has sought a report from Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi and made it clear that strict action would be taken if anyone was found guilty in the case. Antony also said three simultaneous investigations were going on by the Delhi Police, Kerala Police and the Navy itself in the wife-swapping allegations.
In recent times, several cases of misconduct in the Navy have come up including one involving a Commodore-level officer who was dismissed by Antony for having sexual relations with a woman in Russia during his posting there to oversee the construction of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov.