The Army has declared Major Sharyf Bhonsle, a Special Forces officer serving as an Aide de Camp (ADC) to the Arunachal Pradesh Governor, an absconder after he went missing while on a vacation in Spain in August. The Major had reportedly gone there without taking due permission and without informing the Army.
Serving as ADC to Arunachal Pradesh Governor lt General (retired) Nirbhay Sharma, Major Sharyf Bhonsle had taken leave in June and was due to report to duty in August. However, the officer did not do so, officials said on Saturday adding that his family and unit too did not have any information about him.
Initial inputs suggested that he had gone to Spain to take part in adventure games there and had injured himself, but there was no information after that, the officials said.The Indian Embassy in Madrid was requested to find the whereabouts of the officer but he could not be traced, the officials said.When all these efforts failed to track him, an Army Court of Inquiry was set up at the Parachute Regimental Centre, Bangalore, which declared him an absconder, sources said.
The case will now be handed over to the State Police of Arunachal Pradesh, where he was posted or in Pune, where he hails from. The officials said the Major had not sought clearances from the Military Intelligence (MI) as is the rule for all serving officers before heading to a foreign soil.
The law enforcement agencies will now try to locate him and hand him over to the Army after arresting him. An absconder, as per rules, will then face disciplinary proceedings, including court martial, the officials said.The Army officer was on deputation with Arunachal Government for the last one year and is from the Para unit of the Special Forces as was the Governor during his tenure with Army.
The Special Forces are an elite unit of the Army and the commandos of these highly trained units are trained to carry out missions behind the enemy lines, hostage rescue operations, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare and special reconnaissance.