Tehelka fallout -- Infantry chief to be summoned by Army CoI

Tehelka fallout -- Infantry chief to be summoned by Army CoI
GAURAV C. SAWANT

NEW DELHI, MARCH 25: A three-star serving general will be summoned by the military court of inquiry as he is alleged to have contacted the West End company ``a couple of times,'' regarding their hand-held thermal imagers.

Lieutenant General Shankar Prasad, Director General (Infantry), according to the Tehelka transcript, ``called West End a couple of times basically to say that his work would start only after the evaluation trials were ordered by Choudhary'' (Major General P.S.K. Choudhary, Additional Director General, Weapons and Equipment).

``This puts Prasad's conduct under a cloud since Army officers are not supposed to interact with arms peddlers. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) is extremely angry and hurt and has sworn to cleanse the system. He has said that no matter how high corruption goes, it would be weeded out, highly placed sources in Army headquarters said. Lt Gen Prasad himself refuses to comment on why he called an ``arms agent'' when asked to talk about what his role is in the entire scheme of things regarding procurement.

``I have nothing to say on this,'' he told The Indian Express. Lt Gen Prasad has held crucial appointments like the Corps Commander Bhatinda Corps and Major General, General Staff (MGGS) Northern Command. An Army spokesman said that it was up to the CoI to summon whosoever it thought important to get to the bottom of the case.

The Army, which feels ``disgraced'', has so far been taking all punches on the chin but has now decided to counter the blows. ``The Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch, the legal cell of the Army, is to suggest the options and future course of action. But all this will be done only after the completion of the Court of Inquiry. Not everybody in the Army is corrupt. Presently, the entire Olive Green (colour of military uniform) has been disgraced not just the dirty few,'' he added.

The Court of Inquiry has been recording the statements of the two reporters who masqueraded as arms agents and gained entry to the homes of top military generals and then former defence minister George Fernandes'.

``Whoever has been named in the tapes will be summoned. As Lt Gen Prasad's name appears, he too would be called to give his statement. All statements will be corroborated with available evidence,'' Army sources said.

The Director General (Infantry) is a crucial post at Army headquarters. The Infantry Directorate under him decides on what to arm the foot soldiers with and in what quantity. The Directorate also devises courses for the Infantry battalions, called the Queen of the Battle.

Ex-Major General summoned by CoI

THE military Court of Inquiry (CoI) probing corruption in the highest echelons of the Army has issued summons to Major General S.P. Murgai who played a key role in opening the doors of top Army officers, bureaucrats and the defence minister to the ``arms agents''.

Murgai, who was Additional Director General (Quality Assurance) in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and retired last August, was paid Rs 1,40,000 for his contribution to the ``arms deal''. As per the Army Act, for three years after retirement a soldier can be court-martialled under military law.

However, it is learnt that Murugai was not at home and the summons were delivered to his wife. Murgai is said to be close to Surendra Sulekha, a Kanpur-based industrialist, and had accompanied the ``arms agents'' (the journalists from Tehelka.com) to the official residence of then defence minister George Fernandes. It was here that the deal was talked with former Samata party President Jaya Jaitly. -- ENS