A commanding officer and his female assistant of the Surat Home Guards allegedly harassed 25 female home guards, leading to their suspension on Monday, Indian Express reported. The ‘physical, mental and sexual harassment’ allegations were listed in an application sent to Surat police commissioner Satish Sharma, urging him to look into the matter.
As per IE, a copy of the application was also sent to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja.
Weighing the seriousness of the allegations, Deputy home guard commandant Virendra Singh Rana ordered the suspension of both the accused, Officer in Commanding Somnath Singh Gherwal and Platoon Sergeant Bhavna Kanthariya.
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Home guard commandant General Gujarat, P B Gondia said, “The allegations levelled on Somanth Gherwal and Bhavnaben Kanthariya are serious. We have suspended them till further orders. We have also sent our teams to Surat to inquire into the allegations and prepare a report. We will take our decision based on the report.”
Surat Home Guard Commandant Praful Shiroya has assigned the inquiry to Deputy Commandant level officer Pranav Thaker, who will submit a report in a week.
