New Delhi:
It's one of the biggest corruption scandals to hit the Indian Army; now it's clear that three top generals were involved.
The case involves 70 acres of land, owned by the Army, in Siliguri in North Bengal. An army inquiry has found that the three generals colluded to lease this land to a group of businessmen for a project worth 290 crore.
The same project had been rejected by their predecessors on security grounds, pointing out that any building on this land would overlook helipads and other sensitive army installations. So the new sanction raised an alarm.
The biggest offender is Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, the Military Secretary, one of the eight Principal Staff Officers at Army Headquarters. Being posted at the HQ, he had no jurisdiction over Siliguri. The court of inquiry says he took undue interest in the Siliguri project, possibly because of old links with businessman Dilip Agarwal. Agarwal allegedly promised General Prakash a job after his retirement in February. Sources have told NDTV that the General did not counter witnesses during the enquiry.
Prakash then pressured the then-Commander of the 33 Corps, Lieutenant General PK Rath to clear the 70-acre deal.
Sources say that Rath has confessed to having taken the decision at Gen. Prakash's behest. It is alleged that Prakash, who was in-charge of promotions at the HQ, promised Rath a plum posting there.
And then there's Lieutenant General Ramesh Halgali. At the time of the scam, he was a Major General, and deputy to Rath. He's been found guilty on administrative grounds - not giving his boss the correct advice.
But none of them faces any punishment yet as this was only a court of inquiry. The Army Headquarters and Ministry of Defence will have to take a final call whether one or more of them could face a court martial once the report reaches Delhi from the Eastern Command.