Land scam: 'Army to take action against Generals'

Army chief Deepak Kapoor will take 'some disciplinary and administrative action' against the four Generals involved in a land scam in Darjeeling, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Wednesday. The ministry had received a report from the Army chief in this regard on Tuesday night and it was 'too early' for him to comment on the action to be taken against the Generals, he told reporters.

"The defence ministry received a report from the Army chief that he is going to launch some disciplinary and administrative proceedings against some of his colleagues, who are involved in this inquiry. At this stage, it is too early on my part to comment on this," he said.

Refusing to be further drawn into the issue, Antony said he was yet to examine the report and as the information provided by the Army chief was for the defence ministry only, it would not be possible for him to make any remarks.

The Army chief has initiated disciplinary proceedings against former 33 Division Commander Lieutenant General P K Rath. He has also issued show cause notices to Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, 11 Corps Commander Ramesh Halgali and Major General P Sen to take administrative action.

The Army chief had on Monday directed Adjutant General Mukesh Sabharwal to issue 30-day show cause notices to Lieutenant General Prakash, Lieutenant General Rath, Lieutenant General Halgali and Major General P Sen after a probe had allegedly held them culpable in the land scam.

Disciplinary action was initiated against Lieutenant General Rath, who had allegedly played a major role in the issuance of a No Objection Certificate to a private realtor for buying a 70-acre plot adjacent to the Sukna military station near Darjeeling.

Army's Eastern Command chief Lieutenant General V K Singh will proceed against Lieutenant General Rath, who had reportedly also signed a memorandum of understanding with the private realtor for allotment of seats to Army personnel's wards in the school that was to come up on the land. Rath, whose appointment as deputy army chief was scrapped last year after a probe was ordered into the land scam, is currently attached to the Eastern Command headquarters in Kolkata.

In the case of Lieutenant General Prakash, who is set to retire on January 31 and Lieutenant General Halgali and Major General P Sen, the administrative action could lead to punishment ranging from a minor censure or recording of displeasure in their service records to loss of pension benefits or dismissal from service.

The land scam came to light after it became known that the private realtor, Dalip Aggarwal, who is allegedly close to Lieutenant General Prakash, 'falsely' represented to the Army that his trust would open an affiliate of the Ajmer-based Mayo College.