Monday, July 9, 2012

Corruption cases in force won’t be hushed up: Army Chief

Army Chief General Bikram Singh, who took over as the 25th Chief of Army Staff in the backdrop of insinuations rife about him going slow against the rot within the force, made it amply clear that no corruption cases will be hushed up during his tenure. 

In his public statements coming after nearly a month of taking over the reins of the 1.13 million-strong Indian Army, the General said that even though during his tenure officers will not be kept under extreme scrutiny, any case of corruption will be dealt with a strong hand.



“I assure the nation through you that no corrupt element will be tolerated in the system and guilty will be brought to the book. We will proceed against such elements according to rule book and the cases will be taken to the logical end,” General Bikram Singh said during an informal interaction with media persons.

In his month-long tenure alone quite a few high-ranking officers have been under the scanner for corruption related cases. Investigations were presently on against one Lieutenant General, one Major General, two Brigadiers and two Colonels. Along with this, the Commandant of the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) was also shunted out after his Staff Officer – a Colonel rank officer was arrested in the cash for job scam.

After taking a month’s time to take stock of the affairs of the Indian Army, in the wake of a slew of controversies involving the force, the General has outlined his vision for the remaining next 23 months of his tenure. General Singh has given strict instructions to all the men in uniform to adhere to the ethos of the Olive Green as the flouters will not be spared due to the fear of embarrassment.

With the previous chief General (retired) VK Singh focusing more on “transformation” of the force, the incumbent has made it clear that the focus will be on “modernization” and “transformation” will be a sub-set of it. “Modernisation is a broader topic. We have taken stock of the ‘hollowness’ in the military preparedness and we are working towards resolving it,” General Singh added.

General Singh has the challenge of plugging the gaping holes in the military preparation of the Army – the army aviation, artillery and ammunition – are all in the dire need of modernization. Under his leadership the Army has got a sympathetic view of its demand for a ‘mini air force’ operating combat helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, despite a vocal opposition from the Indian Air Force (IAF). Following the final approval, the force will be inducting its first squadron of attack helicopters.

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