The Hindu : National : Probe charges, Antony tells Army Chief

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Friday, Sep 07, 2007
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Probe charges, Antony tells Army Chief

Special Correspondent

A.K. Antony

NEW DELHI: In the wake of two recent charges against Army personnel, Defence Minister A.K. Antony has directed Chief of the Army Staff General J.J. Singh to submit reports on the incidents.

In the first instance, a senior officer allegedly misbehaved with a woman officer under his command at Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the second, some Army personnel were alleged to have “illegally” sold their personal weapons to arms dealers in Rajasthan, who sold them to criminals.

“The Minister has taken a serious view of such reports and wants the Army Headquarters to probe these charges in depth,” sources in the Defence Ministry said.

In Leh, Captain Neha Rawat filed a statutory complaint against the General Officer Commanding of the Leh division, Major General A.K. Lal, accusing him of misbehaviour.

The Army has ordered a probe and attached Major General Lal, chief of the 3 Infantry Division, to the Srinagar-based 15 Corps.

The 3 Infantry Division comes under the Leh-headquartered 14 Corps and the intention of attaching Major General Lal to another command is to ensure that he does not influence the probe, the sources said.

Police allegations

In Rajasthan, the South Western Command will probe allegations by police and district officials that Army personnel were selling personal weapons “illegally.”

A police officer was quoted in a newspaper report as saying that they had a list of personnel, including senior officers up to the rank of Major General, who turned up in Rajasthan to sell their personal weapons to arms dealers. These weapons were then sold to the rich and influential, as well as people with criminal pasts, at high prices.

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