On June 5, Gaja Devi Bishnoi was going about her usual routine when a relative contacted her to show her a Facebook post. The post showed an injured man, beaten black and blue, with multiple photos. That’s when she realised it was photos of her husband, Army jawan Ramesh Bishnoi, who was allegedly assaulted by five Army officials, including a major and a lieutenant rank officer of his unit, 12 Mahar Regiment, in Pune. The attack had taken place three days before, on June 3.

Gaja Devi and her relatives rushed to Pune. She was finally able to meet her husband on June 7. Her husband had been admitted to the Command Hospital in Pune on June 4, a day after he was beaten up. “Uski halat mare jaise thee (He was almost dead),” she tells Newslaundry. “Though he was assaulted and admitted into the hospital, neither his unit nor the hospital cared to inform us.” Ramesh Bishnoi is presently in the ICU ward.

The Facebook post.

Subsequently, Gaja Devi and other relatives filed a statement with the police on June 7. They initially went to Wanwadi police station which cited jurisdiction issues, and so filed their statement at Sanghvi police station. The statement stated that Army jawan Ramesh Bishnoi was assaulted by Major Soham Singh Bisht, Lieutenant Mahipal Singh Khati, Subedar Subhash Chand, Naik Subedar Vikas Mandal and Naik Adhikari on the night of June 3 inside the barracks of Aundh military station in Pune. The police have registered a case against the five accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including Section 307 (attempt to murder).

Newslaundry accessed the statement and an audio clip of Bishnoi’s statement submitted along with it. According to the statement, Bishnoi had been “scolded” by Major Soham Singh Bisht on June 2 for coming late on an outpass day. Major Bisht told him he was “careless in his work”. Bishnoi responded, “I am not careless, sir” but added that he was sorry if the major thought he’d made a mistake. A source close to Bishnoi told Newslaundry on condition of anonymity that this was a “trigger” for the subsequent assault on Bishnoi.

Statement filed by Gaja Devi with the police.

Statement filed by Sepoy Bishnoi with the police.

On June 3, Bishnoi says he was scolded by Major Bisht on numerous occasions in the unit. At 6 pm, Bishnoi was told to go to his, Bishnoi’s, room. At 7 pm, the statement says, Bishnoi was summoned by Major Bisht to Room Number 12 in the FTN barrack. “When I reached there, Major Bisht along with Lieutenant Mahipal Singh Khati, Subedar Subhash Chand, Naik Subedar Vikas Mandal and Naik Adhikari were present in the room. They made me sit with them and started pouring alcohol in glasses. They also poured a glass for me, but I told them, ‘Sir, I don’t drink’.”

Bishnoi says he was told, “Pee le kuch nahi hota (Drink, nothing will happen)”. When he said he would not drink, the five men stopped pressing him and starting drinking themselves. Once they finished about half the bottle, the statement says, they stood up.

“Major sahab whispered something in the ear of Naik Adhikari. He went out and got a stick, an iron rod and a rope. When he came back, they closed the door, shut the windows and drew the curtains. Then Vikas Mandal and Adhikari held my mouth open and Subedar Subhash Chand forcefully poured the remaining alcohol in the bottle down my mouth. I felt a burning sensation in my throat.”

In his statement, Bishnoi says the major then hit him on the back of the head. He fell. He was then lifted and placed on a bed. The men removed the sticks from the bed, meant to prop up the mosquito net, and tied his legs and hands with rope.

The audio clip of Bishnoi’s statement.

“They started hitting me on my back, legs, feet and waist. They beat me for two hours and then left the room. I was locked inside the room the entire night. One of the JCO (junior commissioned officer) sahabs was aware of this incident but nobody came forward to rescue me. On the morning of June 4, I was given some water.”

Bishnoi says an officer called Naik Subedar Parvez came to the room then, and Bishnoi told him what had happened. After that, a regimental medical officer then “gave him an injection”, he says, before going to Room Number 13 with three other officers of the unit to “prepare some papers”. “They they called an ambulance and admitted me at the medical inspection room of the Command Hospital in the evening.”

Bishnoi, who’s from Nadiya Prabhavati village in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, has suffered acute injury to his kidneys in the assault.

Newslaundry accessed the medico legal case report prepared by Army doctors at the Command Hospital, Southern Command. The report identifies the patient as Bishnoi and states he was “tied to a bed in a prone position and beaten by a wooden stick over his legs and buttocks. Later patient was kept in room on morning of June 4 patient complained of severe pain and was taken to the MI room of 330 Inf Brigade. RMO (regiment medical officer) referred patient to Command Hospital (Southern Command).” The report states Bishnoi had “loss of consciousness” when he was beaten. It said he had suffered “multiple injuries, myoglobinuria with acute kidney injury”.

The medico legal report.

Bishnoi’s relative, Budhram Bishnoi, told Newslaundry: “Officers bade khandan se aate hain aur sipahi gareeb parivaron se (officers come from affluent families and sepoys come from poor families). So the officers always consider people at lower ranks to be their slaves.They think jawans are inferior to them and don’t treat them with respect. Otherwise they wouldn’t have beaten him so badly.”

Newslaundry contacted the regiment medical officer, Captain Bipin Lahiri, to ask whether Bishnoi suffered any throat injuries due to the alcohol he claimed was forced down the throat, and if the report mentioned alcohol traces in his blood. Lahiri refused to comment on the issue, saying the matter is “sensitive” for the Army’s reputation, and he isn’t authorised to speak according to Army rules.

The police report.

The case is currently being investigated by assistant police inspector Ganesh Khadge of Sanghvi police station. Khadge told Newslaundry: “We met senior officers of the Army and told them about the case. They told us they are carrying out an inquiry into the matter and will take necessary action. Once the entire inquiry is done by the Army, they will hand over the matter to us.” 

Newslaundry sent a questionnaire to the defence PRO of Southern Command to ask about the attack and about action being taken by the Army. The story will be updated when a response is received.