72 Army officers sold their weapons for profit

In a shocking disclosure, the Army on Friday admitted that 72 officers, including a serving Colonel and three Lt Colonels, posted in border districts of Rajasthan and at the Indian Army Training Team (IMTRAT), Bhutan, were part of an illegal arms sale racket.
    The admission came in a status report submitted to the SC through additional solicitor-general Vivek Tankha after a PIL petitioner advocate Arvind Kumar Sharma cried himself hoarse for three years and after the Supreme Court pressed for a probe.
    Weapons procured and sold in violation of the Army Act and Customs Act to arms dealers and private persons included both prohibited and nonprohibited bore and “a total of 72 officers and one JCO were blameworthy”, the Army said, quoting a report submitted by the Court of Inquiry two years ago. In an affidavit submitted to an SC bench of Justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar, the Army said that its officers posted at IMTRAT, Bhutan, wrongly felt that it was alright for them to import firearms and ammunition and sell them at a profit. “This needs to be corrected immediately,” it said. 
    It gave the names of the Colonel and 3 Lt Cols along with the number of weapons traded by them — Col Neeraj Rana (5 weapons of Army officers), Lt Col V S Rathore (17 weapons of Army officers including his weapon), Lt Col S S Rathore (5 weapons of Army officers including his own) and Lt Col B S Shekhawat (11 weapons of Army officers).
    While clarifying that most of the weapons illegally traded off were not service ones but non-service patterns (NSPs), the Army said: “Forty-five officers and one JCO had sold their NSP weapons without taking sanction of competent authority in violation of SAO 1/S/96 and the Arms Act, 1959. Of these, 10 officers have since retired.”
    “Twenty-five officers who were posted at IMTRAT, Bhutan, were found to have imported ammunition in excess of their authorization,” the status report said and detailed the disciplinary action taken against them.
    Shockingly, of the 35 serving officers, one JCO and 10 retired officers who were asked by the authorities to deposit back their NSPs with the Central Ordnance Depot, Jabalpur, within three months, only four officers have been able to retrieve their weapons and deposit the same with COD Jabalpur and Chandigarh. While disciplinary action was initiated against four who deposited back their weapons after retrieving them from arms dealers, the rest of the weapons appear to have been lost.
    “Regarding 31 officers and a JCO who had sold their NSPs without sanction and failed to deposit them back with COD, these personnel are serving in various parts of the country. Their attachment orders have been issued by competent authority on August 31, 2010 with the instructions to report to the concerned formation headquarters and units forthwith. On arrival of these officers, disciplinary action will commence against them under the Army Act and Army Rules,” the affidavit by the Army promised the SC.
Courtesy: Times of India

Army called in to help in Common Wealth Games

When all systems fail, call in the Army. With time running out, a desperate Delhi government has now asked the Army to build a foot overbridge outside the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in place of the one that collapsed on Tuesday. The bridge will facilitate movement of spectators. 

    The move came after officials responsible for securing the stadium found that an alternative movement plan for spectators would pose a security risk.
    Top Delhi government officials said the Army plans to begin work immediately and is expected to deliver the bridge within five days. ‘‘This will be a Bailey bridge,’’ chief secretary Rakesh Mehta told TOI. A bailey bridge is a prefabricated truss bridge used by the military to bridge gaps. The new bridge will not be as fancy as the one that fell, but will be built at a fraction of the original cost. Rs 5 crore was being spent on the suspension bridge that collapsed.
    The PWD has been asked to complete the second foot overbridge that will also take spectators into the stadium. This structure will be completed before the Games by PWD, which claims material is ready and it will be possible to finish work in time. Army sources confirmed military engineers had been asked to build the bridge following a request from the Delhi chief secretary. Some of the equipment had already been moved to the site, they added.
    As the entire Delhi Government machinery swung into action to execute a belated salvage operation at the Games Village, by afternoon it was evident that a replacement for the collapsed foot over bridge at JLN stadium would be necessary. Earlier, the government and the traffic police had proposed an alternative plan for movement of spectators who were supposed to use the FOB.
    According to top sources, under the alternative plan, spectators would have had to walk an extra kilometre to enter the stadium. Thus a meeting was held with the Army representatives on Friday where the modalities of building a bridge were discussed. Chief secretary Rakesh Mehta said, ‘‘For now, they have agreed to make one bridge.’’ 
Courtesy : Times of India