Kolkata: More than three decades after her husband, an Indian Army personnel, went missing while returning to his posting in Himachal Pradesh, a Kolkata woman has approached police and Army authorities seeking an investigation and closure of the case, which has prevented her from receiving family pension and other benefits.According to a petition submitted by Arokia Mary Rajan (61), her husband Edwin Rajan was serving in the Army Service Corps as a naik/clerk and was last posted at Dalhousie Cantonment in Himachal Pradesh when he went missing in 1990. On Jan 18, 1990, Edwin left the quarter at Strand Lines, Fort William after his leave to report back to his unit at Dalhousie. However, he never reached his posting. She contacted Army authorities and learnt that he had not reported for duty. Enquiries with his unit yielded no clue.She reported the matter to Hastings Police Station then, though she no longer has a copy of the complaint or its general diary number. She later learnt that the Army had declared her husband a deserter. However, Arokia maintains that Edwin was not a wilful deserter but the victim of an untoward incident. In 1995, the commanding officer of the Bengal Area Provost Unit (Military Police) formally took up the matter with Hastings PS. Arokia submitted repeated petitions, including representations to Hastings PS in 2013 and the joint commissioner of police (Crime) at Lalbazar in 2018, seeking probe to trace him.Arokia said she had raised their three children without financial support and remained unable to claim family pension. She approached police on Sunday seeking an FIR and closure report to pursue financial benefits.A family member from Sarsuna said this was their last attempt to seek justice. “Several ex-armymen guided us initially. Arokia has kept moving from one door to another, sent letters and emails, hoping for a breakthrough. We have not received any financial support so far,” he said.Army sources said when serving personnel stop reporting for duty without authorised leave, the initial position is ordinarily absence without leave (AWL) under section 39 of the Army Act. “AWL is a punishable offence but if a person returns within 30 days, there is no service break,” an official said.Sources said section 106 of the Army Act, 1950 mandates that if a service member remains absent without authorisation for 30 days, a court of inquiry must investigate the absence, check for missing govt property and declare the person a deemed deserter. In long-untraced cases, Army records may reflect the person as a deserter, though the absence would initially have been recorded as unauthorised absence. “Deserters don’t get financial benefits other than PF. But if police file a report clarifying that he did not run away and had met with an accident, other benefits can be considered. The deserter tag will have to be removed first,” the officer said.
