New Delhi: Days after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) reported that soldiers in Siachen were served food unfit for consumption, a retired senior Army officer has been taken into custody for his alleged involvement in the scam.
Retd Lt Gen SK Sahni is accused of involvement in meat and dry rations scam for troops in Siachen. On Thursday, he was brought to Indian Army's Western Command Headquarters. He will face a court martial starting Friday this week for his alleged role in irregularities in procuring meat and dry rations for troops in Siachen and other high altitude areas.
The CAG report which was tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday says that soldiers were supplied wheat, rice, pulses and edible oil 28 months past their expiry date. The auditor has also found a serious lack of competition in filing of tenders for the purchase of ration. In fact, it points out that a single vendor bagged contracts for more than 36 per cent of the purchases.
It also says that about-to-expire food items were bought at cheaper rates by contractors and then supplied to army units.
The Army Supply Corps (ASC) spends Rs 1,440 crore every year on rations. It is reported that rations worth Rs 1.92 crore were untraceable in Northern Command as of March 2008.
However, speaking to CNN-IBN, Lt Gen Sahni challenged the Army to prove the allegations.
"The charges against me are fake they pertain to procedural aspects and not to ration. I am ready to face any punishment if charges are proved against me. I can challenge Army's decision but I am innocent," said Sahni.
Retd Lt Gen Sahni, a former director general of the ASC, is the highest-ranking officer in the defence services till now to face a court martial for his alleged involvement in a corruption case.
He was attached to the Jalandhar-based 11 Corps for the Summary of Evidence (SoE), which was completed on July 10 and after it recommended to continue disciplinary action against him, orders for his General Court Martial (GCM) were issued by the authorities concerned, Army sources said.
A Court of Inquiry constituted in 2005 had recommended disciplinary action against him in the case. Sahni retired from the Army a year after the inquiry was instituted against him. The officer was also charged for procuring poor quality pulses for troops posted under the Northern Command in Jammu and Kashmir.
(With PTI inputs)
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