With the Darjeeling land scam case becoming a major embarrassment for the Army after the indictment of one of the closest aides of the Army Chief, the Defence Ministry has directed the Army to take ‘appropriate action’ against erring officers.

A day after a Court of Inquiry revealed that Military Secretary Lt Gen Avadhesh Prakash, one of Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor’s closest aides, had links with a dubious real estate developer and had used his influence to push through a land deal, the Defence Ministry said that it had taken note of the development and asked for action. “Whenever there is an irregularity in any procedure, the service concerned looks into the matter and takes appropriate steps. The Ministry had directed the Service — the Army in this case — to look into the matter and they will take the appropriate action,” said Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju, speaking to reporters at the Parliament Complex on Tuesday.

However, even after a clear trail between Lt Gen Prakash and real estate developer Dilip Agarwal has been established by the Court of Inquiry, the Army tried to play down the matter by saying that “speculative comments” against individuals were not “appropriate”. It held that the Court of Inquiry against the officers alleged to be involved in the scam, three of whom are Lt Generals, was still in progress. This flies in the face of facts, given that the formal report of the inquiry has already been submitted to the Eastern Army Commander in Kolkata.

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