Army in a mess: Promotions for sale, rape charges against Officers

A high profile brigadier, recently posted as the Deputy Director General, Discipline and Vigilance (DDG, DV) at the Army Headquarters, has come under scanner for the alleged abuse of power and demanding money from subordinate officers and contractors in a cash scandal.

Brigadier Laiphrakpam Ibotombi Singh of 13th Battalion Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JAKLI), who was till March 2012 commanding the Watershed Brigade in Sikkim, has been accused of compelling officers under his command to “loan him money for urgent family requirement” and then not returning it.

The general officer commanding (GOC) of the Striking Lion Division conducted a discreet inquiry before the official court of inquiry (CoI) was ordered on June 15, army sources told Headlines Today on Tuesday.

“A rather grim picture emerges from the pattern of complaints. There are serious allegations that need to be probed. The discreet inquiry findings will be a part of the material for the court of inquiry to proceed,” a senior officer in the Eastern Command told Headlines Today.

The timing of the “loan” allegedly coincided with the time of writing of annual confidential reports (ACRs) of the subordinate officers has brought the brigadier under suspicion. Both the Eastern Command and Army Headquarters refused to share details of the discreet inquiry.

Only officers with unimpeachable integrity and spoken reputation are posted to the DV directorate, which is responsible for keeping a hawk eye on army’s internal health and integrity.

“Brig L.I. Singh was handpicked by the former chief of army staff General V.K. Singh in April this year and brought to the DV directorate. He was probing the botched-up Jorhat intelligence operation. Now he himself is under the scanner for alleged extortion,” an officer said.

As a DDG in the DV directorate, Brig Singh had asked the Eastern Command and the Dimapur based 3 Corps to explain inaction of officers in taking disciplinary action against those involved in the botched Jorhat intelligence operation where a team of 3 Corps Intelligence and Surveillance Unit was found to have broken into the house of an MES contractor and stolen a pistol, mobile phone and cash.

“He himself is now being summoned for a court of inquiry to explain complaints filed by serving officers directly under his command of illegally demanding money. This is a conduct unbecoming of an officer,” sources said.

An army spokesperson confirmed that an investigation had indeed been ordered.

“A court of inquiry has been ordered to probe the allegations. As soon as the inquiry is completed we shall reveal the facts,” the spokesperson said.

Army sources said borrowing and lending money is strictly prohibited in the army according to defence services regulation. In the past, a two-star general was court martialled and punished for a similar offence.

“Brig Singh is an alumnus of Sainik School, Imphal, Manipur. He is a bright and hard working officer. He excelled in Staff College and Higher Command Course. He commanded his battalion in Drass and was awarded a Yudh Sewa Medal for exemplary leadership after Operation Parakram. He had a bright future and these complaints need to be probed speedily and in a transparent manner,” a senior JAKLI officer told Headlines Today.

Brig Singh has proceeded on leave and the inquiry would begin as soon as he rejoins.

Lady officer alleges rape by Lt Col

An Army officer has been arrested on charges of raping a woman officer after duping her with a fake marriage.

The Uttarakhand police nabbed Lt. Colonel Dilip Singh Shekhawat from his home town Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, where he had gone on a two-month leave, and brought the accused to Dehradun on Monday. The woman officer also claimed that the officer was already married and had not revealed his marital status to her.

According to the police, a woman officer, who is also serving as Lt Colonel in the Medical Corps, lodged a complaint with the Dehradun police in April 2012, charging Lt Colonel Shekhawat of frequently raping her and cheating her by conducting a bogus marriage in a temple.

Dehradun police’s circle officer, city, Navneet Bhuller said, “We had gone to Jhunjhunu with a non-bailable warrant against Lt Colonel Shekhawat. We have sent the accused to jail. The investigation team is conducting the inquiry.”

The lady officer is presently serving at the Military Hospital in Dehradun, while Shekhwat is posted at NCC Uttarkashi.

According to reports, Lt Colonel Shekhawat had met the lady officer last year in Dehradun when he was in the city for the Republic Day camp of the NCC.

The victim has claimed that the Army officer married her at a temple in the hills last year. Few months after the marriage, the officer publicly denied having any legal relationship with the lady officer, which forced her to lodge a police complaint.

NO END to Brutality by BSF at Indo-Bangla Border

Instead of arresting suspects and handing them over to the police for trial, Border Security Force soldiers are often accused of taking the law in their hands, says Syed Tashfin Chowdhury from Dhaka

Around the early hours of June 9, Joy Shikdar, 32, of Kalna Potapara village in North 24 Pargana district of West Bengal was amongst a group of Indian traders handing over cattle to Bangladeshi traders near the Angrail border camp of the Border Security Force.

After they were spotted by BSF personnel, the group started to flee.

Bangladesh's Border Guard camp Commander Humayun Kabir, in an interview to the Independent newspaper in Bangladesh, said that at one point, BSF shot at the fleeing traders. One of the bullets killed Shikdar.

Impoverished villagers, like Shikdar, on either side of the heavily populated 4,000-km long India-Bangladesh forder often cross over to generate income through smuggling and illegal sale of cattle. People from both sides of the border also move back and forth to visit relatives, buy supplies, and look for jobs. Others engage in petty and serious cross-border crimes.

Border forces on either side are mandated to address illegal activities, especially narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, and transporting fake currency and explosives. But instead of arresting suspects and handing them over to the police for trial, BSF soldiers are often accused of taking the law into their own hands.

A press release on June 12, issued by the Human Rights Watch, urged authorities in India  to "investigate fresh allegations of human rights violations" by the BSF along the Bangladesh border and "prosecute those found responsible".

Based on evidence documented and published by Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a Kolkata-based non government organisation, and Bangladesh's Odhikar, the release mentioned, "Despite assurances to the Bangladesh government and public orders to exercise restraint and end unlawful killings and attacks on suspected smugglers, the BSF is once again committing abuses including extrajudicial killings, torture, and ill-treatment of both Indian and Bangladeshi border residents."

According to Odhikar, a Dhaka-based human rights organisation, between January and May 2012, 13 Bangladeshis have been killed, 46 injured and 24 abducted by BSF personnel from the India-Bangladesh border areas.

From January till May 2012, MASUM has documented five killings of Indian nationals, based on statements from witnesses and families of victims.

One such case is that of 21-year-old Babu Seikh. MASUM reported to the National Human Rights Commission that on April 22, soldiers from the BSF's 91st Battalion chased and shot Babu Seikh in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, when he was walking toward the marshland in the evening with friends. BSF members chased his friends as well and eventually fired at them "without warning".

"After a bullet hit Seikh, one of his companions saw the soldiers drag an injured Seikh to their camp nearby, where he later died in custody without access to medical attention," said MASUM.

"In another case, MASUM reported that on January 1, four Indian teenagers, accosted while smuggling cattle, jumped into a rivulet to avoid punishment. The BSF soldiers allegedly beat them when they tried to come out of the water. All four boys, severely injured because of the beatings, eventually drowned."

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at HRW, said on June 12, "The BSF has reverted to its previous tactic of unilaterally punishing suspects, defying orders from Delhi issued last year to exercise restraint and protect the right to life."

"But the central government is also responsible, since it has failed to hold perpetrators accountable," she added.

Last year, MASUM released a video showing BSF soldiers brutally beating a Bangladeshi national caught smuggling cattle in West Bengal state.

"Eight soldiers were suspended but no further information is available regarding their prosecution or punishment," said the release.

Odhikar documents other cases where Bangladesh nationals were shot dead or tortured after being held by BSF members for crossing the border. Odhikar has even documented cases of BSF personnel crossing the border into Bangladesh territory to commit similar crimes against innocent Bangladeshi nationals.

In December 2010, Human Rights Watch released a report on border atrocities, titled Trigger Happy: Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border, which documented nearly 1,000 killings by the BSF over the last decade.

In January 2011, the Indian government assured Bangladeshi officials that it would order the BSF to exercise restraint and encourage the use of rubber bullets instead of more lethal ammunition.

The Bangladesh government, after initially failing to address the issue, finally began to call for the protection of its citizens.

In March 2011, at a joint border coordination conference, Major General Rafiqul Islam, chief of the Bangladesh Border Guards, called on the BSF to respect the right to life and said that individuals "must be treated as innocent unless and until he or she is proved to be a criminal or an offender."

BSF Director-General Raman Srivastava, in turn, promised "to maintain utmost restraint on the border" and also provide troops "with non-lethal weaponry."

"The BSF high-ups and the ministers in New Delhi are assuring non-lethal measures but the BSF personnel are going against these commitments," observed Nasiruddin Elan, director of Odhikar.

"This lack of coordination is not helping either of the two nations. By not bringing to book the BSF personnel at fault, the Indian government is providing impunity to the BSF to do as they please," he added.

The HRW observed that although the NHRC tries to provide justice by seeking responses when complaints are filed, the witnesses are threatened and intimidated into not providing their accounts.

As such, the HRW stressed that it knows of no cases in which BSF soldiers have been prosecuted for violations committed along the India-Bangladesh border.

"This includes a highly publicised case in which a 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl trapped in the wire fencing at the border was shot by the BSF in January 2011," said the HRW release.

Ganguly concluded, "Unless the government orders an independent investigation and ensures the prosecutions of those against whom credible evidence has found, such acts of brutality will continue."

Uttarakhand: Army Officer held on Rape Charges

Dehradun: Amid charges of land scams and low morale of Indian Army due to the ongoing schism in Military/ Political top brass, and Indian Army has been arrested on charges of repeatedly raping a woman officer of the same rank after falsely entering into a wedlock here. Uttarakhand Police arrested the Lt Colonel rank officer on Saturday night from Jhunjhunu area and he was being brought here, police sources said.
The woman officer, having the same Lt Colonel rank, has alleged in her complaint that the officer entered into a wedlock with her but later did not accept her as his wife.
In the FIR she alleged the officer raped her during the past few months in a military hospital.The woman also alleged that the officer was already married and did not tell his marital status to her.

INDIAN ARMY'S WAR WITHIN : CORRUPTION

After General VK Singh had taken over as Chief of Army Staff in 2010, a retired Lieutenant General, whose name figures in the Adarsh Society Housing scandal called on him at the office ostensibly to discuss developments in Kashmir. After the polite conversation, the retired intelligence chief asked him about the pending heavy vehicle contract and blatantly made it clear that there was Rs 50 crore for him in cold cash if the Rs 400 crore deal was awarded to an East European manufacturer instead of Indo-Russian joint venture. The retired general was immediately escorted out of the Chief’s office and was declared persona non grata. The ex-serviceman was not the first or the last of his kind as greed seems to be good for Army’s top brass.

On Tuesday, the CBI registered a case against a former Army Vice Chief Lt General Noble Thamburaj for allegedly conspiring with a builder Kalpataru over a select piece of Pune Cantonment defence land. One of the companies of the same builder is also under the CBI scanner for illegally obtaining prime defence land in Kandivili in Mumbai with the support of former minister of defence production Rao Inderjit Singh and former Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor. The CBI has already registered a preliminary inquiry into the Kandivili land deal last month and moving towards registering a proper case.

After Mumbai’s Adarsh Housing scandal, involving two former Army chiefs and one former Navy chief among others, and Sukhna land scandal, which led to court martial and dismissal of former military secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash, these two illegal land deals have taken the Army’s morale to a new low. From the unsavoury sagas of Ketchup Colonel, Booze Brigadier and Ration General, it becomes quite evident that Indian military is going through marked deterioration of human resource and character.

To top it all, there is growing politicisation of the Indian military for promotions, lucrative assignments and post-retirement jobs. The rot within the Indian defence establishment is clearly evident from the retired officers who liaison for defence contractors at golf courses and bars in Lutyen’s Delhi to ex-generals and admirals being employed by hardware dealers for lobbying in South Block.

In public perception the image of an Army officer is hardly different from that of an untrustworthy police officer. It is evident from these scandals that significant section within Army is out to make a quick buck and would do anything for few pieces of silver. This mindset goes right to the top, as otherwise, how one justifies that no less than five top generals including Kapoor and Thamburaj were declared low medical category for disability pension and IT rebates. Before the health of Indian Army deteriorates further, it is time that the UPA government intervened to stem the rot.

Fortunately, South Block has defence minister AK Antony and Army Chief Gen V K Singh at the helm of affairs at this crucial juncture. Both are above board integrity wise and cannot stand corruption. While swift action and stringent punishment act as a strong deterrent, it is time that the military mounted strong vigilance on its men and started the weeding out process at an early stage.

The promotions and postings process must be made totally transparent through technology with any interference from ruling party politicians or influential arms dealers. Promotion should be based on merit and not seniority as is the case now. Postings to big cities should be rotated fast so that an officer does not develop vested interest. There should be consolidation of defence lands sprawling all over the country with land records updated so that unscrupulous Army officers cannot illegally pass it on to builders.

While it is impossible to isolate or insulate military personnel from increasingly money oriented Indian society, it is important that military ethos is maintained or professionalism will be hit hard in the services. It is important to drive home the fact that the government takes special care of the armed forces through dedicated hospitals, housing, primary and secondary education and recreation facilities.

The average facilities provided to an Army Colonel, equivalent to a director level officer of central government, are far above as compared to his or her government counterparts. Same holds true for higher ranks. Yet there is increasing tendency within the armed forces to get attracted to money through illegal means or hardware deal making. The prevention exercise has to start from the top as the trooper on the border or the Line of Control looks towards the top brass as idols. Otherwise, all the respect won by those armed forces personnel who gave up their lives will be lost and Indian borders will be at peril.

 Reference

Does General Kapoor own five houses?

Chandigarh: Deepak Kapoor says he didn't know that the massively-discounted flat he was allotted in a high-rise in Mumbai was meant for war widows and veterans. That could be construed as an oddity - Kapoor did after all serve as Army Chief.

He said last week that he would surrender his flat in Adarsh Society - a building in Mumbai's expensive Colaba area that is blowing the lid off a conspiracy between politicians, bureaucrats and senior Army officers to gift housing to themselves at huge bargains.

The retired General won't be homeless.  He has been accused of owning a total of six properties in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Delhi's Dwarka district. In August, Ambica Banerjee, who is an MP of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, wrote to the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, asking how the General afforded these assets. Sources in the Defence Ministry say Kapoor, in a letter to Defence Minister AK Antony, has said he welcomes a formal investigation.

Banerjee's formal letter of complaint states that in addition to the now-returned Adarsh flat, Kapoor owns a flat in Dwarka (a Delhi suburb), three houses in Gurgaon, and a penthouse in Lokhandwala in Mumbai.

There's more.  Kapoor was allotted a plot in Gurgaon by the Haryana government in June 2009. Kapoor paid merely Rs. 36 lakh for it - because Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda carved it out of his preferential quota - which allows the Chief Minister to reward residents who have distinguished themselves through their service. 

The rules state that those who are awarded these plots cannot sell them for five years. But six months after he was given his land, Kapoor wanted to sell  - the plot by now was worth Rs. 1.5 crore. The Haryana government reportedly refused to permit this.

However, Kapoor told NDTV that he does not  own any property other than the two-bedroom Adarsh Society flat that he has returned and the Gurgaon plot given to him by Hooda.

Corporate Corruption by C Level in India reveals its Dark Underbelly in Reebok Adidas Scandal

Corruption in India has been exposed in many forms of late and we have documented this in GWI. Politicians, Bureaucrats, Army Generals and Business Owners have been found to be guilty in numerous cases of corruption and pelf . Politicians and Businessmen have been jailed but they have managed to get out on bail using their millionaire lawyers to fake illness and other shenanigans. Some politicians are now involved in both professions with some rumored to be billionaires owning companies through surreptitious means and parking their money in Swiss banks. Business Groups in India see their shares rising and going down depending on which political party wins proving the nexus between politicians and businessmen. There has been no reforms to separate these two and now powerful politico-business dynasties have started ruling large parts of India.

Continuous scams and scandals have started derailing the story. Massive project delays,real estate shenanigans have resulted in a perceptible slowing of Indian growth.Infrastructure companies have started slowing down with some of the darlings even bleeding red ink from the growing problems. Combine this with inflation,inequity and rising interest rates has led to a sharp correction in the Indian stock market. With the Telecom Scam still afresh amongst the masses, there has been a major reputation tarnishing of India’s image not only amongst its own citizens but also internationally. While these cases have not led to a stoppage of Foreign investment into India, a major corruption case involving 2 top executives of Reebok & Adidas has the potential to massively damage India’s investment scenario. These executives are alleged to have siphoned off millions of dollars from their parent company taking advantage of their positions.

Note what has always been known but never exposed in the mainstream media is that C Level executives in India of MNC arms have been involved in underhand deals . It is widely known that top executives regularly take bribes in procurement contracts . Setting up of factories, offices allows the executives to collude with suppliers in cheating their companies with millions of dollars. However even in cases where wrongdoing is found, no legal action is taken as the company does not want to sully its own reputation. In the Reebok case, the executives are let to get away. Fortunately in this case the media has managed to unravel some of the dirty linen allowing criminal proceedings to start against the guilty parties. India is already suffering due to the 2G scandal in which big telecom companies of friendly countries are taking billion dollar hits. With a trust deficit between parent company headquarters and Indian headquarters, the investment into India could come down drastically. The private sector which has been the major engine of growth and innovation is also getting caught in the corruption tangle.

Protests against Corruption in India

NEW DELHI, June 3: Two Indian anti-corruption campaigners drew thousands of cheering supporters to a protest on Sunday to press the government to act against corruption and bring back hundreds of billions of dollars stashed overseas.

Yoga celebrity Baba Ramdev, swaddled in his trademark saffron robes, said he and social activist Anna Hazare would hold more protests through August “to bring back black money stashed abroad.”

The subjects of corruption and so-called black money have riled a public that is reeling from rapid inflation, slowing growth and widespread malnutrition affecting hundreds of millions of citizens.

The protests, along with a string of high-profile scandals, have deeply embarrassed the government and sullied Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s squeaky-clean image as an honest technocrat responsible for sparking India’s growth by liberalising the economy in the 1990s.