DNA PAGE 1 : Military Farms Scam, Officer Faces Court Martial !!

Photos: Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet On Overseas Deployment

Courtesy:Navy

DNA EXCLUSIVE: Army's Rural And Jungle Warfare Units To Train Paramilitary, To Counter Maos, Naxals

Copyright:DNA

DNA EXCLUSIVE : UN To Withdraw MONUC, Indian Soldier Killed

Indian soldier killed as UN withdraws Congo mission

Suman Sharma. NEW DELHI

As the UN mission in Congo winds down, an Indian army soldier was killed in that country by armed rebels on Sunday.

Noncommissioned officer Naik Husan Lal was on a routine patrol in the Mabenga Bridge area when his team came under indiscriminate fire from the rebels. A bullet hit him and he succumbed while being moved in a helicopter to Goma.

The Congo government has written a letter to the UN to withdraw troops by June 2011. Of the 20,000 troops attached to the decade-long peacekeeping UN mission, called MONUC (Mission of the United Nations Organisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), 4,000 are Indians. Their main role is to protect civilians from armed groups.

The letter dated March 16, a copy of which is with DNA, states that "MONUC will draw down a total of 20,000 troops in four phases and troops will repatriate even if their own country is not ready".

MONUC falls under chapter 6 of the UN mandate, but troop contributing countries fall under chapter 7, which is peace enforcement.

At a meeting with representatives of the UN Security Council last week, the Congo government is said to have put the second and third phases of the drawdown on hold owing to pressure from local population, which wants MONUC to stay considering the deteriorating security conditions.

The Congo government had first brought up the issue of MONUC withdrawal in January, saying the country was celebrating 50 years of independence on June 10, thereby giving a strong signal to the UN mission to wind up. As a token, 2,000 troops are to leave by June 10, 2010. In the second phase, 9,000 troops will be reduced by December 2010, while another 4,000-5,000 troops will be withdrawn by June 2011.

Copyright DNA

Chindits Completes One Lakh Hits !!!!!

DNA PAGE 1 : Colonel Faces Court Martial Over Molestation

Court martial of colonel likely over 'molestation'

Suman Sharma. New Delhi

A colonel is facing a general court martial (GCM) in the Northern Command based in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), after a court of inquiry last month found him blameworthy of molesting a woman officer.

The officer, Major Megha Gupta, of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 39 Mountain Division, J&K, accused Colonel Anurodh Mishra of misusing his position as her superior and molesting her. The five-member GCM, assembled in the 87 Air Defence Brigade, and to reassemble later in the month, will hear three more charges.

The case follows two similar complaints recently and at least two suicides by women officers in the Northern Command.

In 2007, Captain Neha Rawat, of the Signals Regiment and posted in Leh, alleged misconduct against the general officer commanding (GOC) of the Karu-based 3rd Infantry Division Major-General AK Lal. The general was tried in a GCM and dismissed from service in 2008. Rawat was the first woman officer to lodge a written complaint against an officer of major-general rank.

In 2006, Captain Rajni Sharma, posted in the Nagrota-based 16 Corps, accused Lieutenant Colonel V Mohan, deputy judge advocate-general, 16 Corps, of sexual harassment. Mohan approached the J&K high court. The court said it was the army's internal matter.

CHINDITS IN BANGALORE As LCH Gears Up For Official Debut!

AG Branch Draws Up List Of All PVC NoK Pensioners

*Flash* : Shankaran, Accused In Naval War Room Leak Case, Arrested In London !

Ravi Shankaran, nephew of former Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash's wife, has been arrested in London. He is the prime accused in the 2005 war room leak case, where classified information was said to have been passed on to arms dealers, in connection with procurements for the Indian Navy.

Agencies

'I am not good in Mathematics', Antony !!

A woman TV journalist today asked A K Antony how was his tenure as Defence Minister, a year after he took over, and he said he wasn't good in Mathematics. Whats the connection , Sir? Stupid answer to a stupid question.

Doesn't she know he's been around as RM since 2006 October. The Minister appeared really tired and jet-lagged after his Oman visit, as all his answers seemed to indicate.

Page 1 Lead flier !!

DNA Page 1 : Army Stumbles Upon Its Mistake Of PVC Winner's Widow Being On 4th Pay Commission !!

Widow of 1962 war hero still lives on 1986 pension
Suman Sharma / DNA
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 0:01 IST

New Delhi: On November 18, 1962, amid India’s disastrous retaliation to the Chinese offensive, Major Shaitan Singh stood as a rock defending Rezang La in the Chushul sector of east Ladakh. Led by Singh, a small band of 120 soldiers of the C company of the 13 Kumaon regiment fought to the last man, engaging in hand-to-hand combat when their guns ran dry.

They pushed back waves of Chinese invaders before being wiped out. A grateful nation honoured Singh with the Param Vir Chakra (PVC).

Decades on, the widow of one of India’s greatest war heroes makes do with a measly pension of about Rs5,000, far less than what the spouse of a war hero decorated with PVC is entitled to. For the last 15 years, she has remained stuck in the fourth pay commission scales of 1986, drawing less than what a junior commissioned officer of the Indian Army draws today.

She is not getting the special family pension as per the latest sixth pay commission recommendations and is yet to receive the arrears under the fifth pay commission recommendation
of 1996.

An upset army brass has decided to raise the issue at the ongoing Army Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi. The issue is serious and it will be resolved at the conference, army sources told DNA.

When DNA contacted the Controller Defence Accounts (CDA), Allahabad, which is responsible for the PVC martyrs’ pension and arrears, an officer put the blame on the bank concerned.

“The bank from which the pension is drawn is responsible for the goof-up. All banks have a chart of the revised payments as per the pay commission recommendations. CDA steps in only when there’s a change in entitlement,” the officer said.

As the widow of a major who died in action in service, she should have drawn special family pension of Rs7680 (DA and other allowances extra) under the fifth pay commission since January 1, 1996. Under the sixth pay commission, she should have drawn Rs28,928 (plus DA and other allowances) per month since January 1, 2006. The pension Shaitan Singh’s widow is entitled to excludes the cash allowance given to PVC winners - the sixth pay commission had raised it from Rs1,500 to Rs3,000.

Liberalised family pension is calculated at the rate of emoluments last drawn by the officer, at 100% of his basic salary. Special family pension is granted when death is attributable to, or aggravated by, service while liberalised family pension is granted in case of deaths which are declared as battle casualties.

Highly placed sources in the army told DNA that the station headquarter in Jodhpur, where Major Shaitan Singh came from and where his widow is presently based, is said to have got in touch with her and explained the faux pas. The army’s 12 Corps is based in Jodhpur.

e-paper

Photos : India, Oman To Step Up Cooperation In Maritime Security

*Flash* : Rajputs Take Over Key Army Appointments, Chief Gets Rajput Offrs As PSOs !!

Lt Gen V S Tonk, a Rajput regiment officer, presently Deputy Chief (IS & T), is likely to take over as MS, and present MS Lt Gen G M Nair ( a Gorkha officer) will swap places with him and take over as Deputy Chief of Army Staff. Lt Gen Tonk was Commandant Infantry School, Mhow, before this.

Lt Gen Verma, a Rajput regiment officer, presently DGMT, will take over as DGMO.

DGMO and MS will both be Rajput regiment officers. Delhi area GOC, Lt Gen KJS Oberoi was hastily posted out recently to Mhow as Commandant Infantry School, after he enjoyed the patronage in Delhi for three years plus, under the powers-that-be ! The vacancy still exists, and it remains to be seen who will come as GOC Delhi area. But one thing appears clear that most probably it would be a Rajput officer !!

DNA:Army Commanders Deliberate Over 'Quantified' Promotion Policy

Promotion policy review for the army

Suman Sharma / DNA
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 1:54 IST

New Delhi: The four-day army commanders’ conference that began in New Delhi on Monday will review the new promotion policy, quantified system (QS), which came into effect last year. There could be some modifications based on the feedback sought from the different military wings.

Chief of army staff General VK Singh will review the policy. He has asked the military secretary for the policy letter based on which QS was evolved.

The new system, adopted after its success in the Medical Corps, grades officers on a computerised scale of 100, of which 90 marks are for annual confidential reports (ACRs), five for awards, honours and courses undergone, and the remaining are decided by the board members (or selectors). If the board members feel an officer has been wrongly judged, they can rectify his report by giving him the 5% marks at their disposal.

Earlier there was no value attached to attributes of an officer being evaluated and each parameter of an officer was taken into consideration as part of the complete report, called the -annual confidential report (ACR) being assessed by a competent authority. The ACR of any officer goes through atleast three levels, which means it is written and reviewed by three competent authorities, which are the Initiating Officer, Reviewing Officer and the Senior Reviewing Officer.

Two Boards each for every rank have been conducted in this one year plus, which are from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel, Colonel to Brigadier, Brigadier to Major General and Major General to Lieutenant General, all of which have been through the new system.

The previous system did not have a computerised order of merit, and had manual computation for selecting officers for the next rank, which in most cases was found wanting as a personal angle or a human factor would find itself weighing on the decision of the selectors, thereby prompting young officers to make complaints if they missed their next ranks. Therefore a quantity or value was given to all the attributes, like annual reports, awards, courses etc, so as to avoid the human error factor, and the computer was left to do the calculation and come up with a merit, of those to be selected

A year later, QS has been found unsuitable for senior ranks as pointed out by all formations of the army. An officer said, “The system is good for junior officers such as those being promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel and from Colonel to Brigadier, but not for higher ranks. In higher ranks, the number of reports written is less. If an officer misses out on even one report, he is out. In junior selection, an officer has more years to perform and subsequently, more ACRs, he has a lot of time to prove himself and earn better reports.”

Though the new system did bring down some complaints at the junior level, but at the senior level since the Board members are senior officers and at some level those officers coming up for senior rank selection would have served under them at some point of time, it helps them assess better, since those officers are known to them, if their previous reports do not have a high ranking. Anomalies can be removed if any, if more weightage is with the selectors, unlike now where they are left only with five percent. Formations have written that more weightage be with the selectors or Board members so that reports can be rectified if there are anomalies or short comings seen in it.

With the increase in the number of vacancies in the higher ranks, after the AV Singh-II recommendations, the selection Boards for senior officers' promotions are being held twice a year, said an officer, especially number 1 SB (Selection Board), and Special Selection Board (SSB) which is for promoting Major Generals to Lieutenant Generals. Number 1 SB is for Brigadiers to Major Generals, number 2 SB for Colonels to Brigadiers and number 3 SB is for Lieutenant Colonels to Colonels. Out of all those being considered for promotion, atleast 50 percent officers make it to the next rank.

Earlier officers made it to anywhere between six and eight on a nine-pointer scale in their ACRs (annual confidential reports) and a few sevens often became the reason for rejection of an officer in a Board and be deemed unfit for the next rank which could be an error or even a senior's grudge towards a junior officer, who's ACR he was writing, which was thoughfully taken care of by the Army by computerisation, and helped at the junior rank selection level.

Any selection Board comprises officers senior by two ranks to the officers to be assessed, and generally has a strength of five officers in the panel.

Awards and honours too have weightage, in which distinguished awards for service like VSM (Vishisht Sewa Medal) and PVSM (Param Vishisht Sewa Medal) are considered only for the immediate rank for which the officer is competing, while gallantry awards are considered for the next two ranks, during promotion.

A LtCol remains in his rank for at atleast four years or more before coming up for promotion, while a Colonel too has that much time in his rank, but Brigadier and Major Generals hardly have a couple of years in which either they make it or miss the next rank.

Photos: Agni-II Test

Photos: Today's Agni-II Test

Courtesy: DRDO

SFC Successfully Tests Agni-II

The Strategic Forces Command today successfully launched the Agni-II 'A2' missile. The launch was carried out from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa. The vehicle lifted off at 0918 hrs and was tracked by various downrange stations. All mission objectives have been met. With this launch the Strategic Forces have carried out launch of all three versions of Agni within three months demonstrating their capability.

*Flash* : Antony To Review First Flight Of LCH On May 22nd In Bangalore

DNA Exclusive : Army To Provide NBC Cover During Commonwealth Games

Radioactive threat : Special team to ensure safe Games
Suman Sharma New Delhi

Following the recent Cobalt-60 radioactive threat, which killed and hospitalised several people here last month, the Indian Army has been asked by the Government to be prepared for a CBRN - Chemical Biological Radio and Nuclear threat which might be faced during the forthcoming Commonwealth Games-2010.

The six battalions under the Delhi-based 60 and 35 Brigades are undergoing the CBRN training in their respective formation and shall also have a joint training capsule with the Delhi Police. An officer said, "It is the Delhi Police who is solely responsible and will be fully geared up for the same, but the army also has been asked to be prepared as stand by."

Basically the Army is constituting a quick reaction mobile team (QRMT), comprising a NBC platoon, a medical team and an infantry team of about 70-80 personnel, who will be inducted and mobilised in no time, will identify the threat and carry out a de-contamination drill.

Usually it is a NBC platoon in the main Engineers regiment, in any formation or area, which is trained for a NBC threat and is the first to be inducted but an infantry team, close to 70-80 personnel, will be ready during the Games (October 3-14, 2010) with its NBC suits, and other equipment, along with a medical team.

The six battalions are being trained in rotation in the special exercise, which includes identification of the threat, cordoning the threat area, use of special chemicals, controlling damage caused by contamination, medical assistance and evacuation. Chief of Army Staff, General V K Singh's battalion, 2 Rajput, is also part of the Delhi-based 60 Brigade.

An officer told DNA, "There may not be much of a nuclear threat, but the Government certainly sees some radioactive, bio and chemical threat in these Games, with a huge international participation. The identification will be done by the Engineers NBC platoon, while the infantry will mainly be to cordon the area and the medical team would be to assist those infected."

India saw its worst ever radiation leak last month in Delhi when one person died and several others were taken critical after they were exposed to Cobalt 60, a high radioactive material, when an auctioned machine was opened up by scrap dealers, thereby leading to exposure to radiation.

MoD Announces Major DRDO Restructuring Plan

1. A new defence technology commission to be set up.

2. DRDO to become leaner.

3. Creation of seven technology domain-based Centres covering clusters of labs.

4. Full autonomy to laboratories for technology initiatives.

5. DRDO to engage an eminent HR consultant to revamp its structure and functioning.

6. Upto five percent of DRDO budget for rejuvenating research.

7. DRDO to have a commercial arm.

8. ADA to retain role of design and development of combat aircraft.

9. DRDO to work Arjun Mk-II and Akash Mk-II.

Courtesy:DPR/MoD

DNA Exclusive: IAF Approaches IITs To Counter Hacking

Air Force looks to IITs to tackle Chinese hackers

Suman Sharma / DNA
Thursday, May 13, 2010 1:32 IST

New Delhi: Alarmed by reports from top foreign agencies about three computer systems of Indian Airforce (IAF) installed at sensitive bases being compromised by Chinese hackers, the IAF has decided to call in two Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to hack into their systems and plug the loopholes within.

Of the three stations where IAF computer systems are installed, one is just across the prime minister’s 7 Race Course residence. Two other systems are installed outside Delhi.

A senior IAF official on condition of anonymity told ‘DNA’: “We want to see how fragile we are and what we need to do in case someone breaks into our systems.” He, however, hastened to add that the IAF was not sure whether a Chinese hacker had stolen data from its computers as reported by the US agencies.
The issue was discussed at a recently concluded IAF commanders’ conference on cyber crime. IITs would also suggest options for safety to IAF for their computers. A senior officer said the Chinese hacking did not bother the IAF, but it was important for them to learn precautionary measures.
The officer said that though operational plans were not digitised in the services and with systems having atleast three firewalls and algorithms in place in IAF, breaking through may not be easy for hackers.

But IAF seems to have decided to take some tough steps. In 2006, IAF set up its largest online network with 166 nodes, for logistic duties, all over the country, called Integrated Materials Management Online Services (IMMOLS). The system aims to improve the availability of items leading to an enhanced serviceability of weapon systems and to reduce inventory costs by minimising non-moving inventory.

Following in the footsteps of the Pentagon, where professional hackers are called in to hack systems for a large sum, IAF has, as a precautionary step, approached the technical institutions so that steps can be taken to plug these loopholes.

A source said the Pentagon also dissuades professional hackers by paying them large amounts as part of an agreement that the hackers would not compromise the Pentagon computers.

Multinational companies too protected their intellectual property through their own network systems guarded by firewalls. IAF has decided to go the same way, the source said, but refused to divulge details about paying the hackers to keep them from compromising its computers.

DNA Exclusive : 197 Chopper Deal Threatened With Second Cancellation As Vendors Show Deviations In Trials

Defence ministry copter deal faces another hurdle

Suman Sharma. New Delhi

The procurement of 197 reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters has run into trouble again. If reports emanating from the defence ministry are any indication, the copter purchase process will be halted and tender cancelled.The reason cited for imminent cancellation is deviations shown by the choppers fielded by the contenders in the trials, hence setting back the modernisation process of the army.Given the fact that the helicopter inventory of the Army is diminishing and procurement of these 197 choppers is said to be very critical in terms of operational necessity and defence preparedness.

In the interests of transparency the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had prepared grounds for cancellation of the Rs 3000 crore deal tender in 2007, when the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) asked the MoD to submit an explanation following an unprecedented objection raised by former National Security Advisor, MK Narayanan. The submitted report showed that the procurement process for the 197 helicopters did not follow set down guidelines.

The fresh global RFP, which was again issued in July 2008, went to five vendors namely the Russian Rosoboronexport for Kamovs, two manufacturers from the US- Bell and Sikorsky, European consortium's EADS' Eurocopter and Anglo-Italian Agusta Westland. Only three firms Eurocopter, ROE and Augusta Westland qualified for trials. It is gathered that the helicopter model AS550C3 offered by Eurocopter, according to the manufacturer’s documentation, was unable to perform the High Altitude Hover-Out-Of-Ground-Effect (HOGE) at 6000 meter pressure altitude, in the phase one of the field trials. Another deviation shown by Eurocopter is that it will require permanent attachments for carrying two stretchers and removal of co-pilot’s seat, which is a serious deviation from the RFP issued.

The new helicopters will replace the aging 1970s vintage Chetaks and Cheetahs, and will be for high altitude, surveillance and logistics.

Russian Kamov 226T offered by ROE has deviations with regard to its empty weight and size. A major problem for ROE is that the engine to be fitted on Kamov 226T will be Arrius 2G1 which is not yet certified.

While Agusta Westland, undergoing trials, too is said to be facing serious problems with the MoD due to misunderstanding on a nomenclature issue. DNA has learnt from reliable sources that there is a difference in the nomenclature of the engine of AW119 what has been quoted, by Agusta Westland, in the bid and fielded for trials, for which the Anglo-Italian manufacturer has appealed to MoD and has also come forward to clarify the issue. MoD is yet to hear it out.

The Finmeccanica-owned Augusta Westland has an an MoU with the Tata Group for its helicopters assembly in India. Eurocopter already has business tie-ups with the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The contract will follow the old Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP-2006), and will have to fulfill a 50 percent offset obligation as per the tender requirement.

Of the 197 helicopters, 64 are for the IAF while the remaining 133 are for the Army. The total number of helicopters are 384, of which 197 will be purchased and the remaining 187 will be produced under license by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The old tender had got cancelled in December 2007, at the behest of the MoD after middlemen, kickbacks and procurement deviations came to light. The 197 choppers in the old tender were only for the army, but later the IAF too pitched in their requirement of the same class of choppers, and a joint tender was decided on.


Copyright:DNA

Meet The First Woman Officer Of GREF !!!

I was clearly quite surprised when I first saw her at the BRO Golden Jubilee function, as I could not relate to women being in GREF/BRO.

Meet Bindu Sehgal, Assistant Director (OL) at the BRO headquarters in Delhi, in an administrative role.

Sehgal joined GREF- General Reserve Engineer Force, in October 1986, as Hindi Officer, through UPSC. "I've never faced difficulties or discrimination in a male-dominated place like GREF. They treat me with a lot of respect," said Sehgal, in a one-to-one with Chindits.

Basically engaged in implementation of Official Language in the Deptt, Sehgal says she would like to see more women officers joining GREF. "There are a few working in this department on compassionate grounds," she adds.

Though the lady has traveled all over the country, on work, she has largely been at the Delhi-based headquarters of the organisation.

Photos : Op Milap : Indo-Myanmar Border Medical Camp

Courtesy:CPRO, Kolkata/WgCdr M Upasani

Defence Minister, Antony, To Visit Oman

Defence Minister A K Antony on his first ever visit to Oman on May 18-19.

Coming up are more international visits of the Minister in the coming two months, which include, the Shangri La dialogue, Russia and Israel. Air Chief, P V Naik, will visit France shortly, followed by the Defence Secretary's visit to France, later. A delegation is slated for Iran too.

EXCLUSIVE : Army Chief Picks ADC From Another Battalion As 2 Rajput Runs Short Of Officers !!

Army Chief, General V K Singh, is said to have changed his decision of having an ADC from his own unit, 2 Rajput, after discovering the officer shortage in the battalion, and instead picked up a young officer from 25 Rajput regiment.

Captains Abhimanyu Tara and Vikram Singh, of 2 Rajput- 'kalichindi paltan', were interviewed earlier in April for the ADC's post, when General Singh took over, but the Chief apparently decided against having anyone from his 'paltan' , as the battalion had just 11 officers, against the authorised strength of 22, of which approximately four officers are out of the unit. The idea was dropped and Major Garg of 25 Rajput was roped in for the job.

Indian Navy UAV Crashes

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Indian Navy crashed at about 7:30 pm today while on a routine mission. The accident occurred just short of the runway, as it was approaching for landing. There are no casualties or injuries. A detailed inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.

Courtesy:Navy

Mahindra, BAE Systems Joint Venture Declared Operational

Defence Land Systems India is a 74% - 26% joint venture between Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India and BAE Systems. Defence Land Systems India is headquartered in New Delhi.

The company is focused on the manufacture of up-armoured light vehicles, specialist military vehicles, mine protected vehicles, artillery systems and other selected land system weapons, support and upgrades.

'Optimised Kaveri For LCA : Antony In Parliament

Kaveri Aero Engine being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) requires to be optimised for lower weight and higher performance so that it can be used for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and possibly for Indian next generation combat aircraft.

The Government also proposes to import foreign engines for LCA. Technical evaluation of proposals received from two short listed vendors, Eurojet (NETMA), Europe and General Electric Company, USA is in progress.

About 1880 hrs on engine test has been completed on various prototypes of Kaveri Engine. A total of eight Kaveri Engines and four core engines have been manufactured, assembled and tested. High Altitude testing on core engine has been completed successfully.

Defence Minister A K Antony answered in Lok Sabha today.

R.I.P : Major Anjan Haldar

Major Anjan Haldar of 105 Regular, from 19 Garhwal Rifles, was posted in his unit in Arunachal Pradesh. Returning from Tenga to Tawang, in a car with his CO and two more (including the driver), the officer met with an accident on April 13, 2010 and lost his life, with the car rolling over him, in a bid to escape. The CO of 19 Garhwal and the other two are safe. The incident occured at Jaswantgarh (which is in between Tenga and Tawang), where rifleman Jaswant Singh fought and died during the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict. RIP Haldar.



The deceased officer has been a gentleman cadet of the blog owner in the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in 1999, before he passed out as an officer.

Brigadier Faces General Court Martial For Financial Impropriety

General Officer Commanding 11 Corps Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali convened General Court Martial for the trial of Brigadier Anil Kayastha, who is presently posted as Brigadier Medical at HQ 11 Corps.

The Court Martial assembled at Ferozepur Cantt on 29 April 2010. Maj Gen TK Das, Chief Signals Officer HQ Western Command is the Presiding officer and Col Atul Harkauli DJAG HQ 9 Corps is the trial Judge Advocate.

Brig Kayastha is facing trial mainly on four charges including three involving moral turpitude. The charges pertain to the period Nov 2006 and Jan 2008 when he was Commandant Military Hospital at Jallandhar Cantt.

As per orders on the subject, medicines were to be procured through local purchase only from registered dealers who were to be selected by a Board of Officers. Duly completed Board proceedings containing names of 60 dealers was put up to him by Col A Chatterjee Presiding Officer of the Board of officers for approval. He asked the Col Chatterjee to include 20 more names of reputed dealers. However, Col Chatterjee did not prepare fresh Board proceedings. As per the prosecution, he did not approve the proceedings with intent to cause wrongful gain.

He is also alleged to have purchased medicines worth more than 9 Crores from the unregistered dealers with intent to defraud.

Lt Col (Mrs) Lajwanti Prasad as Officer in-charge Medical Stores was responsible for local purchase of medicines out of DGLP and ECHS Funds. She had prepared REs 1 to 75 (Rate Enquiries) to be issued to medicine suppliers for supply of required medicines. But Brig Kayastha, as per the prosecution, cancelled these REs 1 to 75 with malafide intentions to cause wrongful gain.

Brig Kayastha was to proceed on posting as Brig Med at HQ 11 Corps on 31 Jan 2008. The contract with M/S Jaisons Traders who was running canteen in the Hospital premises, was valid up to 31 Mar 2008. However, before relinquishing command of the Hospital, he, allegedly, improperly and without authority renewed the contract wef 25 Jan 2008. This charge has been lad under Army Act Section 63 whereas the other three charges are under section 52(f).

On conviction Brig Anil Kayastha may face dismissal from the service and Rigorous Imprisonment which may extend up to ten years.

The trial is in progress.