The officer was working in Afghanistan as Deputy Military Attache and after he was found in possession of two sleek unauthorised pistols on his way back to India, a preliminary inquiry headed by an Indian Police Service officer found that the pistols could not be accounted for by the Army officer
The Army has initiated disciplinary proceedings against a Colonel who was recalled from the Indian embassy in Afghanistan after he was found to be in possession of unauthorised weapons in Kabul.
After he was recalled, as the Ministry of External Affairs took the matter very seriously, the Army initiated a Court of Inquiry against the officer in the Delhi Area headquarters of the force since May last year.
“After the court of inquiry, the officer has now been put under discipline and vigilance ban and will now face disciplinary action which can even lead to his general court-martial,” sources in the Army told MyNation.
Apart from various Army officials and personnel, officials from the External Affairs Ministry including senior ones of the rank of Joint Secretary were also were called by the inquiry headed by an officer of the rank of Brigadier.
The officer was working in Afghanistan as Deputy Military Attache and after he was found in possession of two sleek unauthorised pistols on his way back to India, a preliminary inquiry headed by an Indian Police Service officer found that the pistols could not be accounted for by the Army officer.
The probe revealed that the pistols were not part of the armoury managed by the Indian officials in Afghanistan in the embassy in Kabul which has come under attack by the terrorists of the Pakistan-backed Haqqani network on several occasions.
According to the sources, the matter came to light when the officer was intercepted at Kabul airport by the local agencies there with the two pistols a few months ago while he was returning to India on leave.
When the matter was brought to the notice of Indian authorities, a probe was ordered into the incident as they wanted to establish the facts in the development happening in a country considered to be a strategic partner of India.
Sources said the high-level inquiry into the case was ordered at the level of foreign secretary office.
The Colonel has told the fact-finding inquiry that he had inadvertently put the weapons used for personal safety in his luggage while returning to India in August 2016 and that is the time when the issue started at the Kabul airport.
The MEA and the Defence Ministry have communicated with each other the progress in the inquiry into the matter.
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