Lt Gen Panag to meet Antony over transfer

The Northern Army Commander, who is set to be moved out from his post weeks after concluding an inquiry into irregularities...

The Northern Army Commander, who is set to be moved out from his post weeks after concluding an inquiry into irregularities in the purchase of tents and related equipment, is meeting Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday to protest the move and present his side of the case.

Lt Gen H S Panag—who will be posted to the Central Command with just nine months to go before retiring—had raked up a controversy by ordering an inquiry into irregularities in purchases of tents and related equipment worth Rs 17 crore from the Army Commander’s special financial powers fund.

The purchases took place when the current Army Chief—General Deepak Kapoor—was heading the sensitive Northern Command. Panag will now appraise Antony on the status of the inquiry that concluded on December 17.

It is learnt that a Major General who had been indicted in the ‘tent scam’ told the court of inquiry that purchases worth Rs 17 crore were made under the direct instructions of the then Northern Army Commander Deepak Kapoor. Action has already been initiated against the Maj Gen and several other officers.

Panag will present the inquiry report and particularly the Major General’s statement to Antony during his meeting with the Defence Minister. The inquiry was initiated last year by Panag after it came to notice that tents purchased under the special financial powers fund were lying unused even six months after delivery.

The inquiry was looking into why funds, that are meant for ‘urgent and immediate requirement of counter insurgency operations and internal security needs’, were diverted to purchase tents that could have been bought through the normal procurement procedure.