Ludhiana police have arrested a 40-year-old Army Havildar posted at the CG Army Camp near Jagraon Bridge after the wife of a colleague alleged that he sexually assaulted her repeatedly over about four months and threatened her if she disclosed the matter.
The accused has been identified as Havildar Singh, a resident of GK Estate on Jamalpur Road, posted with 152 C Regiment and in charge of residential quarters at the camp. The Tribune spelled it Havildar Singh. He has been booked under Section 64 (rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Division No. 5 police arrested him on the evening of 1 October.
He was produced before a court on 2 October and remanded to one-day police custody. Assistant Sub-Inspector Paramjit Singh is the investigating officer.
According to the complaint, the 25-year-old woman lives in an Army residential quarter in Ludhiana with her child while her husband, also a serving soldier, is posted elsewhere. The Tribune reported that the husband is posted in Jammu and Kashmir and that the couple has a four-year-old daughter. The woman alleged that Singh had earlier helped her husband secure the quarter and later began assisting with household needs in her husband’s absence, after which his visits became frequent.
She told police that the first assault took place in June, when Singh allegedly entered her quarter around 10.30 pm in an inebriated condition, raped her, and threatened her with dire consequences if she spoke of it. She further alleged that the assaults continued for about four months. On 28 September, when Singh’s family was away, he allegedly forced her to his guest house inside the camp area and raped her again. Some local reports also stated that he threatened to have her divorced from her husband if she resisted. She said he later stopped taking her calls, after which she informed her husband.
The couple went to the police station on 30 September. An FIR was registered on 1 October, and the accused was arrested the same evening. Police have said further investigation is underway.
The allegations remain at the stage of a police complaint and investigation. No statement from the Army or from the accused has been reported so far.
