The National Defence Academy, or NDA, in Pune has constituted a Court of Inquiry to investigate a case of an Indian Army havildar allegedly molesting three schoolgirls visiting the academy on December 24, 2017, The Indian Express reported on Monday. The incident is said to have taken place when a group of students were taken to the academy’s Habibullah Hall for a film screening.

“A Personnel Below Officer Rank was alleged to have brushed his hand [against them] while directing these girls to their seats during the screening of an NDA movie at the auditorium,” an unidentified spokesperson for the academy said in a reply to a questionnaire by The Indian Express.

The spokesperson said that the officer-in-charge of the auditorium, his wife and two serving female officers carried out a preliminary investigation after receiving the complaint. He said that the complainant’s parents and the school principal were contacted, but did not want to file a First Information Report.

He added that the report of the initial inquiry was sent to higher authorities, and subsequently a Court of Inquiry comprising a lieutenant colonel and two serving officers was constituted. This group recorded the statements of witnesses to the incident. However, the spokesperson said that the girls’ parents do not wish to prolong the inquiry.

He claimed that the case does not fall under the ambit of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. “Further action as deemed fit will be taken once the Court of Inquiry have submitted their findings,” he said.

However, an unidentified senior police officer from Pune told The Indian Express that the courts, and not the NDA, have the right to decide whether the offence was of a sexual nature.