Noida: The cook of the retired colonel and two youths who had come to train under him have been languishing in jail for the past one week, on the same charges that have been slapped on the Army veteran.A complaint filed by the wife of an ADM, who accused the colonel of molesting her, mentions that the three were present at the park where the alleged assault took place on August 14. However, the three are not visible in a 3.44 minute CCTV footage, where the ADM is seen beating up the colonel.The cook and the two youths have been slapped the same charge as that of the Army veteran ?— sections 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 504 (intentional insult) of the IPC and under provisions of the SC/ST Act.The colonel was granted bail on Monday after four witnesses, including one who was at the park where the assault is alleged to have taken place, did not corroborate the claim of molestation made by the ADM’s wife.The cook and the two youths will have to stay in jail for at least two more days as the court will remain closed for Bakrid.On Tuesday, the lawyer for the trio gave an application for their bail in Surajpur court, which will hear the matter on Thursday.Sources said that the cook was known to the colonel for a long time, while the two youths — in their 20s — had come to the veteran to get lessons on how to crack the Army recruitment exam. Both the youths belong to humble backgrounds.JM Mathur, who represented the retired officer in court, said one of the youths hailed from Azamgarh — the native place of the colonel — the other was from Bageshwar in Uttarakhand.“The youth from Azamgarh has an exam in Nashik on August 25. His father is a retired Army havaldar. The second one, too, has a humble background,” he said.Sources said the youths had come to Noida to train under the colonel after missing out on the training camp that had been organised by the Army veteran in Azamgarh recently. The retired officer is known to train youths from humble backgrounds for recruitment in the Army.“As a part of social service, the retired officer would organise camps in Azamgarh for training youths who wanted to join the Army. The youths had come here four-five days before the incident,” said one of the ex –Armymen who had been holding rallies against the colonel’s arrest.

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