Army Chief, Dalbir Singh, makes stunning revelation
India's current Army Chief, attacked his predecessor VK Singh, for deliberately tarnishing his service record to stall his promotion. In a sworn affidavit to the Supreme Court (SC), the former Army Chief was accused of making "false, baseless and imaginary allegations" against Dalbir Singh. VK Singh allegedly slapped an illegal Disciplinary and Vigilance (DV) ban on him to deny him promotion as Army Chief.
Chief of Army, Dalbir Singh Suhag
General Dalbir Singh Suhag was appointed the 26th Army Chief on July 31st, 2014. He belongs to a Jat family in Bishan village, Haryana. His father and other members of his previous two generations served in junior ranks in the army. He is known to be a fitness freak; he runs 10 km as part of his daily regimen and enjoys horse-riding and golf.
The simmering controversy
A petition filed by Lt. General (Retired) Ravi Dastane alleged 'favouritism' was at play when Dalbir Singh was appointed Army Chief in 2014. He argued that despite a DV ban on Dalbir Singh, he was promoted as Chief of Army. Incumbent Army Chief countered these allegations and stated the DV ban was "arbitrary" and "malafide" and could not be used to challenge his appointment.
Illegal ban?
An intelligence operation was botched-up in Jorhat, Assam in 2011; as punitive action the then Army Chief VK Singh slapped a DV ban on Dalbir Singh as he was the unit's commanding officer. The ban was issued on charges of "abdicating responsibility" of the intelligence unit. Dalbir termed the ban as "illegal" as he was on annual leave when the Jorhat operation was underway.
What went wrong in Jorhat?
According to an investigation by the army, in a late night operation in Jorhat, Assam in December 2011, masked men in army uniforms blindfolded four members of a family and ransacked their house and took off with weapons, jewellery and cash.
Dalbir Singh's affidavit
Chief of Army Staff Dalbir Singh's affidavit: "Directions for initiating administrative action against me … smacks of a motivated, biased, arbitrary and malicious intent to punish me which the then Chief of Army staff executed apparently as planned by him."
