New Delhi: Army jawan Gunner Desai Mohan's claim that he had been sexually assaulted by the jawans he killed at the Bathinda camp on April 12 will be looked into by the Punjab Police, Army authorities have said, according to a report.

Earlier statements by the headquarters of the Southern Command and the Bathinda Police had omitted mention of the revenge angle. Both had said that the murder had followed the theft of an INSAS automatic rifle and that it had been caused by "personal reasons or animosity."

However, several reports quoting senior Army insiders, including one by retired Colonel Ajai Shukla, had noted that Gunner Mohan had claimed that he had been raped and assaulted by the four jawans and sought to kill them in revenge.

The Tribune newspaper has quoted sources as having said that "aspects of sodomy and rifle theft are likely to reflect in the chargesheet."

"In New Delhi, Army authorities said the Gunner’s medical examination to ascertain “sexual assault” and the forensic test of the rifle to check the fingerprints were being handled by the Punjab Police," the report said.

The paper further reported that Bathinda Cantonment police have added Section 380 of the Indian Penal Code, to the FIR for stealing the rifle, to the existing charges under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC and 25 of the Arms Act.

The Army is separately conducting an investigation through a court of inquiry. It is likely to consider roles of officers who should have been in the know in the case of abuse and also during the theft of the rifle.

The Army had initially followed Gunner Mohan's testimony of having seen “two persons in civil dress with INSAS rifle and axe”. Later, it was said that he confessed that he had lied in an attempt to divert the attention of investigating agencies.

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