Army demands probe into 'unauthorised operations' of Gen V K Singh's intelligence unit

September 20, 2013
New Delhi, Sep 20: Days after sharing the dais with Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi, former Army chief General VK Singh is under scrutiny yet again. modi_rally

National daily 'The Indian Express' has claimed that General VK Singh set up a special unit in the Army which tried to topple the Jammu and Kashmir government.

The Indian Express report claims that a secret Board of Officers inquiry has recommended that the CBI looks into the matter.

The report also claims that the unit set up by General VK Singh called the Technical Services Division (TSD), a part of Military Intelligence, tried to block General Bikram Singh's promotion. The Indian Express reports that the recommendation has been examined by the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Defence.

News agency PTI has quoted General Singh as saying that the inquiry is vendetta because people are not comfortable with him sharing the dais with Narendra Modi.

When contacted, Army Headquarters said the matter was closed on their part and they would not like to comment on it.

Sources said the Army does not want to carry out inquiry against the unit on its own as it does not want to be seen as taking action against its former chief.

The report was prepared by Director General Military Operations Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia as part of a Board of Officers (BOO) formed by Gen Bikram Singh to review the functioning of the top secret unit set up under his predecessor.

Reacting to the reports, Gen VK Singh said, "This is simple vendetta as some people are not comfortable with me sharing the dais with Narendra Modi to espouse the cause of ex-servicemen in the country."

He said if anyone has recommended a probe into the functioning of the unit, then that person is "talking through his hat" as its operations were meant to be secret.

It is learnt that the report submitted by the Bhatia-led committee has stated that TSD was allegedly involved in "unauthorised operations" which may have taken place even across the border without the proper clearance from the higher-ups in the Government.

The operations carried out by the unit in Jammu and Kashmir have also been questioned by the Bhatia committee and it is learnt that the unit has been accused of using funds against top serving officers.

The unit has also been accused of being involved in financial wrongdoings to the tune of Rs 8 crore. The funds for the unit had been stopped at the time when present CAG Shashikant Sharma as Defence Secretary had refused to provide finances to it due to lack of clarity on the way they were being spent by the formation.

At the time of reviewing the operations of the TSD, it is learnt that the Bhatia Committee was also looking into the alleged misuse of Military Intelligence funds to file court cases during Gen VK Singh's tenure against senior officers.

The TSD was formed during the tenure of Gen VK Singh and its existence came to light in March last year when it was alleged that the unit had tapped the phones of Defence Ministry officials at the height of the controversy over the then Army Chief's date of birth.

The process to disband the TSD was initiated recently after the new Army Chief took over and its officers and men have been posted out from there.

The TSD was reporting directly to the then Army Chief Gen VK Singh and it was alleged that the unit may have snooped into the conversations of people even outside the Defence Ministry using its off-the-air interceptor equipment.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: With the highest single-day spike of 15,968 cases and 465 deaths in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 count reached 4,56,183 on Wednesday.

According to the latest update by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), 14,476 deaths have been recorded due to the infection so far in the country.

The count includes 1,83,022 active cases, and 2,58,685 cured/discharged/migrated patients.

Maharashtra with 1,39,010 confirmed cases remains the worst-affected by the infection so far in the country. The state's count includes 62,848 active, 69,631 cured, discharged patients while 6,531 deaths have been reported due to the infection so far.

Meanwhile, the national capital's confirmed coronavirus cases reached 66,602.

2,301 deaths have been reported in Delhi due to the infection so far.

Tamil Nadu has reported 64,603 cases so far with the death toll reaching 833.

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News Network
April 6,2020

New Delhi, April 6: India recorded the highest number of 704 positive cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

With these new cases, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in India have now climbed to 4,281.

Total deaths stand at 111 including 28 new deaths. So far, 318 COVID-19 patients have been cured across the country.

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News Network
April 27,2020

New Delhi, Apr 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a video conference with chief ministers to discuss the situation arising due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, which has been under a lockdown since March 25 to contain the spread of the virus, amid indications that the interaction would also focus on a graded exit from the ongoing lockdown.

This is Modi's fourth such interaction with state chief ministers since March 22 when he discussed coronavirus situation and steps taken both by the Centre and the states to contain the pandemic.

Two days later on March 24, Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown. He extended the lockdown by 19 days on April 14, the last day of the initial three week shutdown, till May 3.

Sources in the government had on Sunday indicated that besides discussing the way forward in dealing with the pandemic, the prime ministers and chief ministers could also focus on a "graded" exit from the lockdown.

In a tweet on Monday, the Prime Minister's Office said Modi and the chief ministers will be discussing aspects relating to the COVID-19 situation.

In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address on Sunday, the prime minister said the country is in the middle of a 'yudh' (war) and asserted that people have to continue being careful and take precautions.

His note of caution came amidst gradual exemptions being granted by the Centre and states to revive economic activities.

"I urge you not to get overconfident. You should in your over-enthusiasm not think that if the coronavirus has not yet reached your city, village, street or office, it is not going to reach now. Never make such a mistake. The experience of the world tells us a lot in this regard," Modi said while referring to a popular Hindi idiom 'Sawdhani hati, durghatna ghati' (disaster strikes when you lower your concentration).

The Centre and the state governments have been giving gradual exemptions to boost economic activities as also to provide relief to people as some states want further relaxation in areas which have seen few or no coronavirus cases.

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