‘There are no satellite phones at NDA’

"There are no satellite phones in the NDA," said a senior official of the National Defence Academy (NDA) on Tuesday.

In a one-on-one with The Indian Express, top NDA officials — who did not wish to be named — sought to clear the air about the ongoing controversy over the alleged recruitment scam and other issues.

NDA comments come after the CBI presented its arguments in court on Monday, saying that the accused were using satellite phones to communicate with each other to avoid being traced.

"The internal inquiry has to happen. We are consulting legal officers in the Southern Command and will go as per their advice. At present, those involved in the case are in the CBI/police custody, as a result of which no internal inquiry is possible. Once the CBI submits its formal findings to the NDA, we will carry out a Court of Inquiry (CoI)," said an official. "As far as the recruitment process goes, NDA has adhered to the rule book. A board was constituted and random checks were carried out by people who were not part of the board proceedings. If people decided to break the rules, they did so on their own. The matter came to light last Saturday and the two officers have been made available for the CBI probe."

Meanwhile, the two officers — Colonel Kulbir Singh and Colonel A K Singh — have been relieved of their duties and replaced by others. "The NDA has been cooperating with the CBI. We allowed them complete access to documents. Access was also given to the houses of the officers involved. As of now, the CBI has not given anything concrete to us."

Commenting on the reports of trees being felled for an 18-hole golf course at the academy, an official said, "Golf is a scientific game and helps towards developing leadership qualities. The academy strength has gone up from 1,800 to 2,100; we fail to understand what is the big deal about the golf course being extended. We have not hacked the trees but re-planted them."

... contd.

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