Brig Jaswal case reaches NCW too

N C Bipindra / TNN / Jan 10, 2007, 02:11 IST

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Complaints of sexual harassment against Brigadier J S Jaswal on Tuesday landed at the National Commission for Women.

CHANDIGARH: Complaints of sexual harassment against Brigadier J S Jaswal on Tuesday landed at the National Commission for Women (NCW).
Raj Kaur, the woman employee from the Directorate of Sainik Welfare (DSW) to first charge Brig Jaswal with making sexual advances to her, and Margaret Gill, another woman from Bathinda DSW office, met NCW chairperson Girija Vyas on Tuesday to lodge a formal complaint.
All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) chairman M S Bitta and president of its Chandigarh unit Rajesh Sharma accompanied them to Vyas' office. The NCW chairperson spent about an hour with the two women and promised to set up an NCW committee soon to probe into the charges.
The two women also signed a joint memorandum submitted by Bitta to Vyas. In the memorandum, the women said they had thwarted "the evil advances" made by Brig Jaswal and protested strongly against his "obscene demands" for developing physical relations with him. "This irked the Brigadier to level all kinds of charges of indiscipline against Raj Kaur," Bitta said in the memorandum.

Claiming that the lives of the innocent women was in peril and they lead a demoralised life, Bitta sought a CBI probe into the charges of illegal activities and "sexual exploitation" against Brig Jaswal to save the institution of DSW from the hands of "immoral" and "uncivilised" persons.
The victims requested Vyas to investigate the charges independently through the NCW and to provide protection to them by taking appropriate action to stop the menace of "sexual harassment" at the hands of the influential.

Meanwhile, Punjab Food Supplies principal secretary Tejinder Kaur, appointed by the government to probe Raj Kaur's charges against Brig Jaswal, told TOI that she would ensure a thorough inquiry into the charges made by the DSW woman employee.
On the short deadline given to her to submit her probe report, Tejinder Kaur said she would obviously overshoot the 10-day deadline to get to the bottom of the charges and that she would duly seek permission to extend the inquiry beyond the deadline.
"I got the files only on Monday after the state chief secretary appointed me to inquire into the charges. I am yet to read the file contents. I will take enough time to do a proper probe. Obviously, I will overshoot the deadline to submit the report," she added.

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