75-Year-Old Air Force Veteran And OROP Activist Allegedly Dragged Out Of His House Without Warrant

A 75-year-old Air Force veteran, one of the spearheads of the one rank, one pension (OROP) movement, was arrested by Gurgaon Police from his Delhi home on Friday on a complaint of embezzlement filed against him by a former Armyman.

Wing Commander C K Sharma (retired), treasurer of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), has been accused of misusing donation money worth Rs 14 lakh that was meant for OROP protests

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But the police action in a case that dates back to 2013 came in for sharp criticism from his daughter and other OROP activists, who saw this as an establishment effort to pit veterans against one another and coerce OROP protesters. Sharma has been booked under sections 420 (cheat ing) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) among other sections of the IPC. IESM was formed in 2008 to spearhead the OROP protests.

Sharma was booked along with two others -Maj Gen Satbir Singh (retd) and Group Capt V K Gandhi (retd) -in a case registered at Palam Vihar police station on February 8. The complaint was filed by Lt Gen Raj Kadiyan (retd), the IESM chairman who alleged "they had taken a lot of cash from the society funds between January and July 2013".

Singh and Gandhi were not arrested because they got interim bail from the Punjab and Haryana high court. Sharma's anticipatory bail application was rejected by a Gurgaon court.

Nisha Sharma, the former wing commander's daughter, raged at what she called a vendetta and, in a Facebook post, sought support for her father

"Five policemen barged into my parents' house, threw his phones away . He was just picked up from his bed (he has been hospitalized and sick for he last 2 weeks). The police are not telling us where he is and what his condition is. The charges are fake and inspired by political vendetta, please support the man who supported countless widows and armed forces personnel," she wrote

Col Anil Kaul (retd) of the United Front of Ex-Servicemen (UFESM), an umbrella body of 200 ex-servicemen organisations of which IESM is a part, said the arrest seemed to be targeted at the Jantar Mantar agitation for OROP and silencing the activists.

"The complaint has been investigated twice over earlier and dismissed both times because there was no substance n it. In Thursday's hearing, the court verbally conveyed to our advocate that no pre-emptive action was to be taken till the hearing on Friday . The same was intimated to the police but they did not pay heed to it. At no time has IESM not made available its personnel or documents for a thorough probe, so this act seems highly unjustified to say the least." Sharma was produced in a Gurgaon court and taken on a day's police remand. Police said he was being questioned by the economic offences wing.

"Retired Wing Commander CK Sharma along with retired Major Gen Satbir Singh and retired Group Captain VK Gandhi are accused in the said FIR on allegations of misappropriation of funds belonging to ex-servicemen.Their anticipatory bail application was rejected by Gurgaon's additional district judge on February 29", said Hawa Singh, ACP (crime), Gurgaon.