Yet another Lt Gen has been attached to the Kolkata-based Eastern Command for the ongoing Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the controversial land deal in Darjeeling.

While the inquiry has put on hold the appointment of Lt Gen P K Rath as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, another top serving officer, Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali has been attached to Kolkata for the inquiry. The officer was heading the Jalandhar-based 11 Corps. In addition, Major General P Sen has been called in for questioning. As reported by this newspaper, the probe has also brought Lt Gen Avadhesh Prakash, who is the Military Secretary (MS), under the scanner.

Sources said Halgali was called in for questioning from Jalandhar as he was earlier posted as the Chief of Staff of the Sukna-based 33 Corps when the land deal was struck with an institute that was posing as an affiliate of the Ajmer-based Mayo College. The land deal was cleared after No Objection Certificates (NOCs) were issued by the Army, in a violation of norms. Sen was the Brigadier (Administration) at the time.