Government lens on graft charges against two top Army officers

NEW DELHI: The government is examining allegations of corruption against two senior Army officers, a Lieutenant-General and a Major-General, but will institute a full-fledged inquiry into the matter only if "something substantial" is found.

Sources said defence minister Manohar Parrikar is "looking into" the complaints against the two officers (names being withheld), one posted in the Army headquarters in New Delhi and the other in West Bengal, with the Prime Minister's Office also "monitoring" the issue.

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"The defence minister is concerned about the allegations against the Lt-Gen, who is slated to retire on September 30, but there has to be something substantial to move ahead. The future course action will be decided once Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag returns from his ongoing trip to Russia next week," said a source.

The Army has already rejected as "false and malicious" the reports that held the Lt-Gen had been asked to go on compulsory leave due to bribery allegations. But, as reported by TOI earlier, the controversy has surfaced once again after minister of state for external affairs and former Army chief Gen V K Singh (retd) asked Parrikar to crack down on military corruption in light of the allegations against the Lt-Gen.

"Shame is too small to describe this. RM (Raksha Mantri) must come down hard to cleanse the system," tweeted Gen V K Singh, who also held the Army was all abuzz with the "biggest unfolding scam, where a senior officer has been sent on leave pending retirement".

On Thursday, in an interview to a magazine, Gen V K Singh once again repeated his assertion, holding the Lt-Gen had been accused of "taking crores for promotions". He also attacked his two successors as the Army chiefs, Gen Bikram Singh and Gen Suhag, for letting matters come to such a pass.

But the Army, in a fresh statement on Thursday, firmly rejected the "misinterpretations and misinformation making the rounds" about the Lt-Gen. "It is reiterated the rumours are false and malicious. All are requested not to fall prey to the false and malicious campaign being orchestrated against a general officer of the Army," it said.

Incidentally, just before demitting the chief's office in May 2012, Gen V K Singh had placed a discipline and vigilance promotion ban on Gen Suhag, who was then a Lt-Gen for "abdicating responsibility" in handling a botched operation by an intelligence and surveillance unit under him as the 3 Corps commander in Dimapur. The ban was lifted after Gen Bikram Singh took over as the Army chief.

It paved the way for Gen Suhag to succeed Gen Bikram Singh as the Army chief in 2014. But not before Gen V K Singh, as a MoS government in the NDA government by then, once again had attacked Gen Suhag for protecting "criminals" in the Dimapur incident.