Darjeeling land scam: Govt asks Army to look into matter

NEW DELHI: With two top Army generals being indicted by a Court of Inquiry (COI) for their role in a land scam in Darjeeling, the government on Tuesday said that it has asked the Army to look into the matter and take "appropriate decisions."

"Whenever there is irregularity in any procedure or any of the functioning, the service looks into the matter and takes appropriate steps. The ministry had directed the Army to look into the matter and they will take appropriate decisions," Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju told reporters in New Delhi.

An Army Court of Inquiry (COI) headed by Tezpur-based 4 Corps Commander Lt Gen KT Parnaik has indicted Military Secretary Lt Gen Awadhesh Prakash and Lt Gen PK Rath for their role in issuing a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to a private establishment that falsely claimed to be establishing an affiliate of the famed Ajmer-based Mayo College.

Lt Gen Prakash is one of the top eight Generals in the headquarters acting as advisor to Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor and is responsible for promotions and postings of officers.

Lt Gen Rath was all set to go to the Army headquarters as deputy chief but his posting has been kept in abeyance pending the probe.

The Army COI in Kolkata probed allegations that some Generals and other senior officers had issued a NOC to the private institution that bought the land adjacent to the Sukna military station in Darjeeling a few years ago.