NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Defence has intervened in the ongoing tussle in the top Army rung after some senior officers came under scanner of a court of inquiry in an alleged land scam. The MoD has blocked the appointment of new Deputy Chief of Army Staff as he is facing an inquiry.Lieutenant General P K Rath, who was commanding 33 Corps, was appointed as Deputy Chief. He was attached to Kolkata where the court of inquiry is being held.Now a search is on for a suitable replacement for Rath and the frontrunner is Lieutenant General Rajinder Singh Sujlana, Commandant, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.Apart from Rath two other top Generals have been questioned by the court of inquiry being conducted in Kolkata whose presiding officer is 4 Corps Commander Lieutenant General K T Nair.The allegation against the Army officers is that they had given a no-objection certificate to an educational trust for procuring land at Sukhna military station in Darjeeling under the jurisdiction of 33 Corps. The Dilip Aggarwal Geetanjali Education Trust had reportedly acquired the land for opening a college.Among those who have been questioned includes Military Secretary (MS) at Army Headquarters Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash. The MS was asked to appear before the inquiry as the trust’s brochure claimed that he would join it as its director after his retirement.The names of three Lieutenant Generals have figured in the court of inquiry so far raising serious questions that might embarrass the government. The MoD wants the inquiry to be completed as early as possible.In the shadow of the court of inquiry, the Army Headquarters is also abuzz with a turf war involving Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor and his senior officers. Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash is reported to have been handpicked to be the MS who is one of the eight principal staff officers of the Army Chief.The court of inquiry is taking place under the jurisdiction of Kolkata-based Eastern Army Command, headed by Lieutenant General V K Singh who is set to become the Army Chief next year.General Kapoor had overlooked him and appointed Northern Army Commander P C Bhardwaj as the Vice Chief in October.This was not the first case when Gen Kapoor ran into a tussle with his top officers. In 2008, Lt Gen H S Panag, the then Northern Army Commander, had complained to Defence Minister A K Antony against his transfer order
Friday, November 20, 2009
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We, the people of India having constituted ourselves into a sovereign democratic republic have a right to be jumpy about the corruption because we have a right to hate it even though we accept it as a part of our lives. But at the same time being brought up on a healthy dose of the good effect of a sound discipline, we love to feel everything is ok with the army and when that crumbles, we predict the end of everything.
ReplyDeleteOne would be disturbed not by the tune of Rs 300 crores scam description but the impunity with which media uses it without verifying the ground reality. The bigger the lie the more the people will believe it. How does one define a scam? Can one be involved in a land deal, fraud or scam without transferring the ownership of the land? The government of West bengal was the owner of the land and still is. The Army wants it annd that is being pursued by the very same HQ Eastern Command who ordered the enquiry. Nobody has actually issued/got a No Objection Certificate. And all these were known since April 2009. Why was there the silence all these days?
Why is the indian public being fed this crap about a scam? Is it to raise somebody's TRP or to act like a stooge for somebody in the army who gains by maligning very senior army officers like Lt Gen P.K.Rath, Lt gen Halgali, and Lt Gen Avdesh Prakash who are unable to defend themselves publicly? That would help the others who are engineering the scam description show up like nice people by comparison.
Truth will out. Those who are behind it will have to explain to the Indian public how a scam was created without an inch of army land changing ownership. Why the Army's name is being dragged through mud when nothing in fact has happened? Would the media kindly check who is the owner of the land and how actually the scam is visualised to have taken place? Forget about Rs 300 crores, would the media people give 300 paise for a deal that never took place? Should the media not check about the authenticity of the source who seem to be having a real good time having uncovered a nice way of maligning people who cannot hit back? Or is it a simple lack of understanding English language?