Friday, March 30, 2012

Army recommends Lt Gen’s promotion, Army Chief seeks CBI inquiry


In a bizarre turn of events, Army Chief General VK Singh – who has been in crosshairs since beginning of this week – has sought CBI inquiry against a Corps Commander in the Eastern Sector Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag just six days after his own Army Headquarter recommended him for promotion.

Suhag presently commands the Dimapur-based 3 Corps and is set to become the head of the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army after Lt Gen Bikram Singh. Suhag was recommended to take over the Eastern Army Command bordering China on March 22. However, General Singh in an unprecedented step forwarded a year-old letter to the CBI accusing Suhag of corruption charges when the premier investigation agency sought his written complaint on a retired Army officer-turned lobbyist trying to bribe him.

The letter was written by MP Ambica Banerjee in May 2011 accusing Suhag of “procurement scams” when he was the Inspector General in the Special Frontier Force. Banerjee had accused Suhag of accepting kickbacks in purchase of night-vision devices, communication systems, weapons as well as parachutes.

When asked about the Army Chief’s latest complaint, a startled Defence Minister AK Antony said on Thursday said: “I have no knowledge about the latest complaint.” While it is not mandatory for the Army Chief to route his complaint to CBI through the Defence Ministry, the lack of communication between the Army Chief and the Defence Ministry is another reflection of the strained in the relations following a series of dirty imbroglio between them.

“I came to know about the complaint from the newspaper. On March 22 the Army Headquarters had sent the proposal recommending his (Suhag’s) promotion,” Antony added. When asked if the Defence Ministry has given a brief to the CBI to investigate the bribery allegations, the Defence Minister said that the agency was directed to conduct a “comprehensive” inquiry.

Insiders in the Army say that General Singh has been against the elevation of Suhag as the Eastern Army Commander, while the Defence Ministry has been backing him. Even in his covering letter to the CBI, the Army Chief has said that Suhag has downgraded the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) of a junior officer for not toeing the latter’s line on acquisition. However, again the timing of the complaint is under question as the complaint which has been lying with him for several months was forwarded only in the last 60 days of his tenure.

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