New Delhi: The Indian Navys dented image has suffered another setback after the wife of a lieutenant commander alleged that the officer forced her to get “sexually involved” with other men and consume alcohol. She also claimed to have been physically and mentally tortured by the Navy officer for dowry.

Defence Minister A K Antony has ordered a probe into the allegations. The wife narrated her ordeal to Antony in a letter on April 26. The incident occurred in August 2012, six months after their marriage. Sources said the couple had already agreed for a mutual divorce.

The woman alleged that her husband, a lieutenant commander (equivalent to a Major in the Army) posted at the Naval Ship Repair Yard (NSRY) in Karwar, forced her to “get sexually involved” with his colleagues and consume alcohol. The officer had also threatened to post her nude pictures on the Internet if she disclosed it to anyone.
A Navy official said a board of enquiry was looking into the allegations made by the woman and her father.

An MBA degree holder, she got married in February last year. Her husband, she claimed, was working on the Navys new aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov), which is likely to be inducted by November and based at Karwar. Describing her husband as a “monster in uniform,” she claimed to have even contemplated suicide following prolonged physical and mental torture. The officer also demanded a dowry of Rs 65 lakh, she alleged. The woman has demanded disciplinary action against her husband.
 
The incident comes close on the heels of “wife-swapping” charges at the southern naval command in Kochi. The Navy also sacked an officer recently for sending lewd SMSes to women.

In the last five months, the Navy has dismissed one officer for having an illicit relationship with his superiors wife and sacked three others for disclosing vital information on social networking sites. Barring “wife swapping,” all other incidents occurred under the western naval command.

The new scandal broke out on a day when Antony directed the Navy commanders to take the “sternest possible action against those who tarnished the image and prestige of the armed forces.”

The minister referred to “isolated incidents of inappropriate behaviour” by a few personnel in his address at the naval commanders’ conference. Sources said it was a case of marital discord that was being played out in the open.