Army to sack officers, cadets who bribed their way into the force

Taking a strong view against the recruitment scam in the induction of both officers and men, the Indian Army has decided that it would throw out individuals who have bribed their way into the force including those who have already become officers or are undergoing training at different academies.

Senior Army sources told ANI that in the case related to officer recruitment scam being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Indian Army officers are actively involved in the investigations to dig out more details of the corruption case.

The officers and men who have been caught initially in the scam are being questioned by the CBI and Indian Army officials are also involved in the probe.

More details are coming out and strict action would be taken against all those found involved in corruption of any kind to get into the force, top Army sources told ANI.

Anybody who is found to have paid money to join the force irrespective of whether he or she has already been commissioned or is undergoing training would be kicked out.

There cannot be any compromise against corruption in any way, they said.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane have already made it clear to the environment that there is no way officers and men involved in cases of moral turpitude or financial corruption be allowed to go away unpunished.

A number of serving officers including individuals of the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and Major have been named in the CBI first information report for allegedly taking bribes from candidates coming for selection as officers to Kapurthala Services Selection Board.

Three individuals including a Lieutenant and two under training cadets have been named in the report by the central investigating agency while more names are expected to come out in the detailed probe.

The Army has started a big drive of sorts to deal with the corruption at different levels in different departments of the force and military intelligence has been involved in a big way to proactively detect corruption.

In the recruitment scam, a number of agencies involved in the coaching and training of candidates aspiring to join the armed forces as officers and jawans are also under the scanner of the agencies.