Gen V K Singh’s ’anti-J&K’ unit creates ripples

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Sep 20, 2013, DHNS: Former Army chief Gen V K Singh finds himself in the middle of yet another firestorm with media reports on Friday suggesting that he used a covert military intelligence unit and the money earmarked for it to topple the Omar Abdullah-led Jammu & Kashmir government.

It was also alleged that Gen Singh tried to stop Gen Bikram Singh from succeeding him through a court case. In his response, Gen Singh said he was discussing legal options.

 

While the BJP accused the government of “hounding” Gen Singh for sharing the dais with its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari warned of strong action “if any malfeasance is found”.

Tewari said: “The contents of the report which have been mentioned in a newspaper are under active consideration of the government. If any malfeasance is found against any serving or retired officer, appropriate action would be initiated.”

Allegations had emerged in the past that the special intelligence unit, the Technical Services Division (TSD) reporting directly to Gen Singh, had misused funds and a board of officers was instituted in August 2012 to scrutinise the unit’s functioning after Gen Bikram Singh took over as the Army chief.

The three-member board, headed by Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, director-general of military operations, submitted its report to the Army chief on March 2013. The Army chief is understood to have shared the contents of the report with Defence Minister A K Antony.

Six months after a section of the report was leaked out to the media, the board recommended investigation into the TSD by an external agency like the CBI.

A Defence Ministry spokesperson said the ministry had not taken any decision on a CBI inquiry.

“The government received a report from the Army headquarters on certain issues relating to one of its outfits as reported by a section of the media. The report impinges on matters of national security and, as such, the government will take a decision and further actions after a careful examination of the report. The government has in place measures to prevent any such undesirable activities,” he added.

TSD is now dysfunctional as only four men are still posted in the unit and all officers were shifted out. Col Hunny Bakshi, who used to run the unit, is now posted in Bangalore and is facing a court of inquiry.

Paperwork to create TSD began during the tenure of Singh’s predecessor Gen Deepak Kapoor but the unit actually materialised when Gen Singh was at the helm of affairs.

The media report has come five days after Gen Singh shared the dais with Modi at an ex-servicemen rally at Rewari in Haryana, which was his first public rally after his anointment as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.

Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said: “This sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the autonomy and the credibility of the institution which is critical for national security.”