Army initiates action against the Tainted Generals-Tribune News Service:Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

Darjeeling Land Scam
Army initiates action against the tainted Generals.
Ajay Banerjee :Tribune News Service.

New Delhi, January 12: The Army today initiated
disciplinary action against a senior Lieutenant
General which could lead to a court martial,while
separately administrative action has been initiated
against three other top officers for their role ina land
scam in West Bengal.Army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor
had directed Adjutant General,Lt Gen Mukesh
Sabharwal to issue notices for taking action against
Military Secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash, Lt Gen
PKRath, Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali and Major General
P Sen, after a probe had reportedly held them culpable
in the land scam.The scope of the administrative action
will be as wide as warning to termination from service.
This means the Military Secretary will be saved from the
ignominy of facing a sack.Senior Army officers said here
that disciplinary action had been initiated against Lt Gen
Rath, who had a major role to play in the issuance of
signing of a memorandum of understanding with a private
realtor for a 70-acre plot adjacent to the Sukna military
station near Darjeeling.Rath during the court of inquiry
had blamedthe Military Secretary.
However, officials explained that this was not enough for
Rath to escape as he was the one who ultimatelysigned the
papers in his previous capacity as GOC 33 corps.Lt Gen PK
Rath was the deputy chief-designate, however, his
appointment had been put on hold.
Lt Gen GM Nair, who is the outgoing GOC 9 corps Yol Camp,
is tipped to the deputy chief. Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash and
two other generals have been served a show-cause notice.
The Army chief submitted his recommendation to the
Ministry of Defence after going through the findings of the
court of inquiry which was held in eastern command
headquarters inKolkata.The Army chief’s ruling is in
contrast to the recommendation of the eastern Army
commander Lt Gen V K Singh, who had claimed that there
was enough ground for the termination ofLt Gen Avadesh
Prakash’s service. Gen Singh had sought administrative
action against the three other officers, Lt GenPK Rath,
corps commander Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali and Maj Gen
P Sen.But Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash has only been served a
show-causenotice asking him to explain why
administrative action should not be taken against him. He
is due to retire on January 31. Theshow-cause notice will
allow him to retire without getting punished while in
service. He gets 30 days to respond.
Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.
Mob.098554-09128,Tele-Fax 0175-5000896.