New Army Staff Deputy Chief appointed

New Delhi: Lieutenant General Susheel Gupta took over as the new Deputy Chief of the Army Staff after a reshuffle of Army top brass at the Army headquarters here on Monday.

Gupta, who was earlier commanding Army Strike Corp, replaces Lt Gen Mohinder Puri who has retired, said an official release.

Two other senior Army Officers also took over key appointments after reshuffle, namely Lt Gen B S Dhaliwal and Lt Gen Sudhir Sharma on Monday.

Lt Gen Dhaliwal has been appointed as the new Engineer-in-Chief following retirement of Lt Gen Ranjit Singh. While Lt Gen Sharma, who was commanding the key 16 Corp in Jammu sector, has been promoted as the new Quarter Master General at Army headquarters.

Sharma had commanded the key Akhnoor-based 10 divisions during 'Operation Parakaram'.

Senior General Lt Gen B J Gupta would be the new Commandant of the Wellington-based prestigious Army Staff College.

Lt Gen Gupta was commissioned in the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment in December 1967. An alumni of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy, he participated in the 1971 Indo-Pak war in the Western Theatre and in Counter Insurgency Operations in the North East.

Having commanded a Unit and a Brigade in mountains and high altitude areas, the General Officer has vast experience of operations in mountains and in active areas along the Line of Control. He has participated in operations in Sri Lanka and has been The Chief Military Personnel Officer at the United Nations Mission in Iraq -Kuwait.

The General Officer is a graduate from the Defence Services Staff College, qualified in Higher Command Course, attended National Defence College and M Phil in Management and Defence Studies from the Indore University.

The General Officer has held various staff appointments at an active Brigade, Division, Corps in an active High Altitude Area and in Military Operations Directorate at Army Headquarters.

He was awarded Yudh Seva Medal for his services in Sri Lanka and Ati Vishist SevaMedal for distinguished service whilst commanding his Brigade in high altitude area on The Line of Control.