India
The officer, who was till recently heading a sensitive spy unit under a formation responsible for guarding the China border, has also been accused of misbehaving with the jawans deployed under him and using them for personal works
New Delhi: In a worrying development, a colonel of the Indian Army is facing disciplinary action for more than 20 charges of corruption including illegal sale of liquor, diesel, misusing official car by running it as a taxi, siphoning off official paint and washing powder.
The officer, who was till recently heading a sensitive spy unit under a formation responsible for guarding the China border, has also been accused of misbehaving with the jawans deployed under him and using them for personal works.
“A one-man inquiry was ordered against the officer initially. At present, the officer is facing disciplinary action in a formation under the eastern command of the Indian Army. If found guilty, he will face a court-martial and can even be dismissed from service for the alleged offenses,” a senior Army source told MyNation.
Sources said the moment his wrongdoings came to the notice of the higher authorities in his chain of command, an inquiry was ordered as Army chief general Bipin Rawat has made it clear that there would be zero tolerance towards cases of corruption and moral turpitude.
One of the serious charges faced by the officer is that he used to organise unauthorised parties in his safe house where a number of other senior officers were alleged to be the attendees.
The officer has also been accused of procuring liquor at lower rates from Chandigarh and Bangalore and thereafter, selling it at higher rates to earn Rs 13,000 near his area of deployment.
The officer is also alleged to have sold an old communication tower installed in his unit to local vendors under the eastern Command area and made Rs 3,500.
He is also accused of issuing unauthorised military warrants, which allow personnel to travel for free in trains and causing loss to the exchequer. The warrants are submitted by the personnel of railway authorities and the railways then claimed the money from the defence ministry.
The officer is also accused of siphoning off 150 litres of diesel for personal use along with surf washing powder and paint from the unit headquarters. One of the allegations against the officer is that he also sold around 500 litres of official diesel in the civilian market to earn profits.
During the inquiry against the officer, it has also been alleged that he misused the government vehicle provided to him as a commercial taxi ferrying civilian passengers between two places near the place of his posting and earned around Rs 60,000.
He has also been accused of first felling off a teak tree in the compound of his unit and then selling it off to a civilian carpenter who paid him around Rs 10,000 for it.
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