Why was Devinder Singh targeted?

New Delhi:

In what could blow up into a major embarrassment for the army top brass, the Armed Forces Tribunal has said that a top General fudged reports to mask his own errors and to play down the exemplary courage shown by a subordinate officer in the Kargil War, costing him a medal and a promotion.

The Tribunal has upheld the claims of Brigadier Devinder Singh who complained of wrong report of his battle performance.

What drove Lieutenant General Kishan Pal to virtually rewrite history?

In April 1999, the General had reportedly dismissed warnings from a war game that suggested a Kargil-like intrusion. Brigadier Devinder Singh was part of that exercise and his assessment proved correct.

Later, Lieutenant General Pal told the Chief of Army Staff that just 45 Pakistani irregulars were positioned in Batalik. But Brigadier Singh reported that it was actually 600-odd regular soldiers and his assessment was again proved correct when captured prisoners of war were questioned.

The tribunal order has suggested that personal malice and a need to protect himself drove Lieutenant-General Pal to fudge records underplaying the role of his most successful subordinate.