Another Lt Gen under scanner in land scam case

In an embarrassing development for the army, the military secretary — a senior lieutenant general in charge of all postings — has been summoned for an ongoing inquiry into a land scam in eastern India. The military secretary is a crucial post, given the demand for impartial postings and promotion policies in the army.

Sources said Lt General Avadhesh Prakash was summoned by a court of inquiry set up in Kolkata to assess how a private trust was permitted to start a Rs300-crore educational institution in Sukna, West Bengal. Preliminary investigations indicate document forgery and a conspiracy involving some senior army officers. The Sukna-based 33 Corps looks
after a large part of the China border.

The summoning of Prakash, one of the eight principal staff officers (PSOs) in Delhi who assist the army chief in running the 1.1 million-strong army, is bound to embarrass the military establishment.   

Sources said Prakash’s name was mentioned in the statements of other officers being investigated in the case. Army veterans say that this is probably the first time that a PSO has been called for an inquiry into a case involving direct financial irregularities.
Prakash becomes the third Lt general to come under the scanner in this inquiry. Lt Gen PK Rath, who was commanding the 33 Corps, was earlier attached to Kolkata, his appointment as the deputy chief of army staff being put on hold. Another lieutenant general and several other senior officers have also been called for the inquiry.

The case revolves around a move by the 33 Corps to permit, overturning its own decision, a private trust to start a massive education venture on army land. Investigations show that the original minutes of a corps leadership meeting that decided not to allow any activity in the land next to the corps headquarters was replaced by a forged document. The original decision had cited security concerns.