AHQ CSD Liquor Smuggling: MOD, Civil Staff and Politicians

Who else is the beneficiary of CSD Liquor?
By Maj Gen Chander Nandwani
Issue: IDR Net Edition | Date: 11 May, 2012
Way back in 1995, I was posted as Additional Director General of Supplies & Transport in Army Headquarters. Apart from my routine responsibilities, I was also given additional charge of managing Army Headquarters (AHQ) canteen, as its Chairman. It wasn’t much of a prized post, since a retired Colonel appointed as the Canteen Manager with around 50 to 60 civilian employees working under him, was essentially accountable, for the day-to-day functioning of the canteen.
Therefore, my area of focus would be to strictly monitor the indenting and sale of such items. For this purpose, computers would be installed in the canteen and sale of liquor strictly regulated through issue of new cards after due verification of the cardholders. Soon after taking over the additional responsibility, I decided to pay a visit to the AHQ canteen during the lunch hour break to get a ‘Feedback’ from the employees with regard to their working conditions as also motivate them to provide better service to the customers. After patiently listening to their woes and giving ‘on-the-spot’ decisions to improve their working conditions, I made a remark that while being posted at Delhi on three earlier occasions, I had never patronized AHQ canteen, as more often than not, all the attractive consumer items including popular brands of liquor were seldom accessible to the customers. Therefore, my area of focus would be to strictly monitor the indenting and sale of such items. For this purpose, computers would be installed in the canteen and sale of liquor strictly regulated through issue of new cards after due verification of the cardholders. Further, the existing liquor cards in use would be discontinued straightaway and destroyed.
The next day, all hell was let loose against me. Big posters were pasted at every nook and corner of Sena Bhawan and South Block, making serious allegations against me. Radhe Shyam (name changed), a labourer and the union leader of AHQ Canteen civilian employees, having three buses and two flats in Delhi, threatened that there would be ‘Mass Joint Self Immolation’ by all employees at Jantar Mantar on the Republic Day (due after 10 days or so), if Maj Gen Chander Nandwani was not immediately removed from the post of Chairman of the canteen. News items on similar lines were also published in the reputed national dailies. The allegations made against me included taking of a big bribe for purchase new computers, favouring purchase of specific liquor brands, coercing women employees for sexual favours and so on. I was particularly tickled by the allegation of sexual favours and cheekily informed my wife that surely my standing in this regard was now far better than what she had imagined during past several years of our married life!!!
I was immediately summoned by the Quarter Master General (QMG), under whom the canteen functioned, and was asked to brief him on this sudden turn of events when everything was going on so smoothly before I took over the charge of the AHQ canteen. I requested for a couple of days time to make discreet enquiries. Before I could say ’Jack Robinson’, there was a note from the MOD signed by a Director level officer asking the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to comment on the allegations made against me and take all possible measures, including removing me from the post of Chairman, to avoid any embarrassment to the Govt., should the threat of ‘Mass Self-Immolation’ materialize, just prior to the Republic Day. What a joke! The matter did not end there. This note from MOD was followed by another note through which, a memorandum signed by 13 MPs and addressed to the Defence Minister, was also forwarded to the COAS, urging him to remove me from the post. This raised the hackles of the then COAS, late General BC Joshi. He called the QMG to his office and asked him to take the matter very seriously and put up a draft reply to both the notes of the MOD, for his approval. In the meanwhile an interim reply was sent to the MOD that the matter was being investigated.
My preliminary investigations revealed that a perfect nexus existed between the canteen civilian staff union leader Radhe Shyam, a few officials of MOD and a large number of politicians, to whom liquor was being supplied from AHQ canteen, on a regular basis. Of course the demand increased manifold during the time of elections. What intrigued me the most was the ‘modus operandi’ of smuggling out of such large quantities of liquor, with the Military Police and several other security agencies working in the highly sensitive areas of Army Headquarters and MOD. The actuality came to light when a disgruntled ex civilian employee of the canteen spilled the beans to me on promise of strict anonymity. I was shaken out of my bones when the truth came to light and immediately ran to the office of QMG to give him the details. He dis-believed me and decided to get the facts verified through a field security agency of the army and learnt to his horror that what I had disclosed to him was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The court of Inquiry proved these allegations to be false, baseless and malicious with the sole aim of having me removed from the post due to ulterior motives.
Well this is how the system worked. The union leader had in his custody hundreds of old liquor cards of servicemen and/or ex-servicemen who had either left the station or had died. He drew choicest brands of liquor from the canteen in the names of these personnel and had simultaneously perfected a distribution system through which the liquor was delivered right at the doorsteps of the selected MOD officials and several politicians apart from other influential clients in the ministry. Surprisingly, right next to the AHQ canteen was the parking lot of VIP staff cars and some of these staff car drivers had been bought over by Radhe Shyam by giving them free bottles of rum and other lucrative canteen items such as expensive watches etc. During the lunch break when security was lax, these drivers would reverse their cars next to the canteen bulk store, wherefrom crates of liquor were loaded into the dickey of these staff cars. Radhe Shyam instructed these drivers to deliver the liquor crates at various locations after dropping the VIPs at their respective residences. Wow what an ingenuous idea! The irony of the matter is that the staff cars with the flags & star plates of Generals, Admirals and Air Marshals (including the QMG), without the knowledge of the occupants, were being illegitimately used by unscrupulous individuals for their unholy deeds. Sadly these very senior officers had unknowingly become couriers of liquor for the politicians. No wonder there was such a sharp reaction from all quarters, when I had only hinted at introducing computers to check the sale of liquor from the AHQ canteen!
The Chief on being informed of the facts of the case directed the QMG to give me full protection and total support to cleanse the system. I obtained legal advice from a leading civilian lawyer. He advised me to request for an enquiry against myself since I had taken over the post barely 10 days earlier and had nothing to hide. Thereafter, on my specific request on file, a court of inquiry was ordered by the QMG to investigate into the allegations made by Radhe Shyam, which were supported by the MOD and the MPs. The court of Inquiry proved these allegations to be false, baseless and malicious with the sole aim of having me removed from the post due to ulterior motives. To avoid several heads from rolling, the MOD and the MPs were politely told by the then COAS verbally that the matter had been thoroughly investigated by a high-powered court of Inquiry, which had opined that there was no truth in the allegations made by the union leader. Hence the matter was not being pursued further to save all concerned from grave embarrassment.
On directions of the QMG, the services of the union leader were terminated under my signatures and the whole system revamped with the introduction of computers, thus bringing to an end the sordid drama of “The Canteen Liquor Connection of MOD!”
My only regret still remains that the allegation of my so-called sexual exploits with women employees was also quashed in the bargain, thus proving the obvious!!!
Who else is the beneficiary of CSD Liquor?
Comment: We need officers with courage and guts like Maj Gen Chander Nandwani to take on the growing corruption in CSD. Even officers in staff college use liquor for bartering with servants and for other services. The malaise is much more deep routed than in 1995...

Illegal Liquor Racket emanating from CSD Canteens

Armymen under suspicion in illegal liquor racket by Sandip Dighe.
A major racket involving the illegal sale of liquor meant for the defence services in the open market has been unearthed by the state excise department with the arrest of Ramsevak Ramchandra Sharan (48) from Ghorpadi, last week.
Sharan was selling the liquor from his grocery shop in Ghorpadi. Around 30 army personnel are under the police scanner for their suspected role in the racket.
According to the excise department, the liquor was purchased by the army personnel from the central stores department (CSD) canteen meant for defence personnel, then sold to Sharan, who used to give them Rs40 per bottle as commission. He later sold it at a higher price.
On October 8, on a tip-off, the police team lead by police inspector Shivshankar Patil caught Sharan red-handed selling liquor at his shop.
The excise police recovered 133 liquor bottles of McDowell, XXX Rum and other brands, together valued at Rs28,930.
Sub-inspector RB Birajdar of the state excise department told DNA, “We got to know that about 30 army personnel are involved in illegal activities for the last couple of years.”-via DNA
Armymen under suspicion in illegal liquor racket
Comment: There is rampant sales of liquor in all metro cities to unauthorised personnel. This malaise needs to be curbed in a concerted manner. There is need to get to the bottom of this organised crime.

Cyber Sex: New challenges for the Indian Military

US Centric
As military personnel return from Iraq and Afghanistan, there is growing concern about how the range of traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress, depression, anxiety and tobacco and alcohol and drug abuse has increased dramatically. According to research released by RAND, up to 30 percent of returning war veterans report symptoms of cognitive impairment or mental disorders. Military personnel who have been exposed to combat are more likely to engage in binge drinking and smoking. As a result, the Millennium Cohort Study will follow a representative sample of the U.S. military personnel from 2001 to 2022 – making it the largest of its kind in the history of our military.

But there’s another type of addiction prevalent in the military – sex addiction, especially cybersex addiction. Renowned expert Robert Weiss, founder of the Sexual Recovery Institute in California, consults with the military to spread awareness about this growing concern. Behavioral Health Central spoke with Weiss about this issue.
Read more:
Addressing Sex Addiction in the Military – A Talk with Expert Rob Weiss from the Sexual Recovery Institute

India Centric
Troops who serve in High Altitude areas, Jammu and Kashmir and NE Regions combating terror do suffer from isolation, risk to life, lack of recreation and entertainment. This frustrating living conditions is ideal to develop various addictions like alcohol, drugs and cyber sex. JCOs, NCOs and Sepoy's are more prone to various addictions as they mingle freely with civil population and the Military needs to be aware of it to constantly strive and evolve mechanisms to combat such diseases which can reduce the combat potential of a unit/ individual. The Officer community too with increasing purchasing power after the SCPC do succumb to addictions if they are not kept busy in professional work. ASC, Ordnance, EME and AMC officers are more prone to porn addiction and it is essential that there is inbuilt checks to ensure such addiction does not degrade the the Military in its Conduct, Morale and Leadership. Lessons need to be learnt from UN Peace Keeping ops in Africa where child sex and smuggling were dominant features of the Peace Keepers. click here for child sex and smuggling report by UNO
Condom machines at borders for PMF

"Kick the Bottle" sane advise by Pranab Mukherjee

Press Trust of India, Tuesday July 28, 2009, New Delhi
Kick the bottle, was the advice of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh in the Lok Sabha on Monday, leading to much mirth in the House.

The advice to Singh on the ill-effects of consuming alcohol at his age was given by Mukherjee when he was winding up a discussion on the Finance Bill.

While participating in the discussion, 71-year-old Singh had said in a jocular vein that the increase in exemption limit by Rs 10,000 for Income Tax was so meagre that it was not enough to buy even a bottle of whisky.

"I will advise him (Singh) that at this age it is not wise to have whisky as I have myself given up the habit of smoking pipe," Mukherjee said while replying to the debate over the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Kick the bottle at this age, Pranab tells Jaswant

Alcohol addiction
The Armed Forces and ESM organisations should fight this malady which afflicts a large percentage of Jawans and ESM whose life is ruined by addiction. Consumption of alcohol has increased manifold as revealed from CSD liquor sale statistics. This social evil needs to be curbed. Sadly the NCC Unit personnel who are looked upon by students for moral standards are more alcohol- dependent than the average military personnel. The NCC units dispense liquor to all in greater percentage than other CSD outfits.

Kargil Diwas: India does not deserve its heros

Friday, July 10, 2009
I have just finished speaking to Col VK Thapar, father of Kargil hero, late Capt Vijyant Thapar, Vir Chakra. It is the 10th anniversary of Kargil. Today, Indian Express has published the letter Vijyant wrote just before leaving for his last mission, in which he said to his mom and dad, ‘ By the time you get this letter, I’ll be dead and watching you from the sky, surrounded by apsaras’. Can you believe it? It is true.

Being an infantry officer of 27 years standing, I have seen many brave soldiers but never one as this. Here is a young man, all of 22 years, going to meet certain death in such a lighthearted manner. All for a purpose called India. You can see the full letter on his site click me. Even enlightened yogis do not achieve such detachment.

Just after I put the phone down on Col Thapar, I switched on the TV and was taken to the NDTV reporter graphically covering details of how a bootlegger in Ahmedabad had been openly selling hooch from a Hanuman Mandir for years, in a state where prohibition is in force. The reporter then showed shots of how branded liquor too was available in all of Gujarat, on a home delivery basis.

The reality of what Indian state has become is not new to me. Day in and day out, I see a failed state and a capricious, money-minded society. I am pretty used to all this and have lost all sensitivity and pain on this account. But somehow the way both these incidents were played to my conscience this morning, back to back, shook me. It actually made me feel sick. Here is a young man with such dedication to the state, and here also is the state and society for which he so willingly dies. And all that at age 22, when most people are still frolicking in their college canteens.

It is not about the one bootlegger. Today, poisonous hooch is in news, yesterday adulterated ghee and milk across 3 states was news. It is what our entire Indian entity– bureaucrats, politicians, and police– has become. The society and the people have not fared any better. The cruelty that Indians are capable of inflicting on other fellow Indians is limitless. And if you happen to be an Indian with some official status, even sky is not the limit.

If our freedom fighters occasionally ask, ‘Is this what we fought for?’, the soldier also asks– ‘Is this what I died for?’ He secures the external boundaries for the people and national institutions to feel unhampered in building the nation, not in ravishing it. When all this happens rampantly, and that too by willful design, he questions. If he presently does not, he should. There is no need to be defensive about it. The price that he pays qualifies him to inspect the goods purchased.

I sincerely feel we have no right to ask people like Vijyant to die for us. We don’t deserve their sacrifice.
Col Alok Asthana (Retd)
Read more views
India does not deserve its heros
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Kargil victory doesn’t enthuse govt a decade on- By Gaurav C Sawant in New Delhi
Jawaharlal, do you want Kashmir, or do you want to give it away?
When Field Marshal Maneckshaw faced the Indian Cabinet

Do Ex- Servicemen and widows need liquor? Who asked for it?

After Sixth Central Pay Commission Pension Sorrows now widows can boost their spirits with extra doze of booze

I think the issue discussed may kindly taken as my experience with the PBORs veterans for the past 27 years. The issue of liquor had deteriorated their thinking ability and quality of life. They don't join together for a unified struggle like any other civilian employees. I know the subject is very delicate.
C Muthukrishnan, (Ex Sgt)
Active Member IESM

MY DEAR VETERANS (PBORs) PLEASE IT THINK OVER
I am fully aware that the subject is a delicate one. But then, I don’t want my community to get ruined in the ugly designs of a few ill- willed bureaucrats. Yes. Time has come for us to debate. Let us frankly speak. Do we need liquor? Do you wish the widows of our unfortunate brothers drink the liquor issued by the Canteen and become alcoholics? Or do you like them to sell the liquor to someone else at a higher price for their livelihood? Do you encourage and subscribe to such a life for our brothers and sisters? If we all sincerely answer these questions, the answer will be a big ‘NO’. We don’t need the liquor at all. We never asked for it.

Instead, we all need is better re-employment opportunities, better pension, good health care, better education for our children, supply of essential commodities like rice, atta, cooking oil, cooking gas so forth at reasonable prices. Then why at all the Government is selling liquor to the ex-servicemen and their widows?

You all will be surprised to know that while thousands and thousands of ex-servicemen including many retired Generals, never in the history of Indian ex-servicemen movement for the last 60 years, and their families are sitting on a relay hunger strike from 16.12.2008 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi (today being the 110th day) demanding One Rank One Pension, the ex-servicemen canteens suddenly increased the liquor quota uniformly to all the widows from 2 units to 3 units from 1.1.2009. This is confirmed news from one Canteen Manager. Now can you imagine why I took out the issue now? While we all are demanding better pension, they are offering more liquor quota for widows, that too by reducing the quota of serving soldiers. Can you now imagine the intention behind this? This is as good as a master throwing sweetened bread to a barking dog when it tries to protect his own house. There is a deliberate attempt by vested interests to mislead these 2 million ex-servicemen. My dear veterans please think it over. Don’t fall prey to these pirates.

Let us join together under one banner i.e. Indian Ex-servicemen Movement and take a decision either to accept or reject this offer of liquor for our future well being. For the well being of a community, the decision of the majority will rule. Therefore, it is the time for our great organization to take some tough decision in this matter for the achievement of our goals. The views expressed in this mail are mainly applicable to about 20 lakh PBORs and their families who are likely to become victims of alcohol abuse and misuse. "Alcohol dependency" a growing malaise is ruining many Ex Servicemen families and further lowering the honour and status of Soldiers. Jai Hind, Long Live Soldiers Unity in IESM.
After pay sorrow, booze cuts hit armed forces

Military is top liquor guzzler
New Delhi: If an adult Indian, on average, consumes a trickle of alcohol in a year, an Indian soldier guzzles a bucketful. The military has emerged as the single most organised guzzler of liquor in the country, with an annual consumption of nine litres per head, at least a litre more than the Malayalees, India's biggest alcohol-consuming community. Though alcohol consumption is still not well documented in the country, the average per capita consumption (for population aged 15 and above) is a little less than a litre, according to World Health Organisation figures.

Reply to a detailed questionnaire on the sale of liquor in military canteens, filed by DNA under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, shows that our soldiers consumed a staggering 1.1 crore bottles of hard liquor-- rum, vodka, whiskey, and brandy-- in 2007, not to mention 1.2 million bottles of beer and sundry wines. In 2008 a staggering 2.5 million bottles hard and sundry wines.

No wonder, then, the recent cut in liquor quota sold in military canteens dampened the spirits of the men and women in uniform. Rum continues to be the most preferred choice, though it's gradually losing the kick. Vodka sales, on the other hand, have seen a threefold rise in the last four years. "Many army wives drink, and they prefer vodka," said an officer who looks after a few canteens. "It is light compared to whisky and rum." Surprisingly, Old Monk, the old favourite of beginners and veterans alike, is not the most sold rum. That crown goes to the military's own Contessa.

Comment: Alcohol dependency, abuse and misuse for monetary gains are certainly ruining the image of the armed forces of both serving and ESM. The culprits are the CSD Canteens run by Armed Forces and NCC units. The civilian staff in the CSD depots/ Unit Canteens find undetectable and safe ways (in connivance with canteen officials), of disposing of liquor in the civilian markets and bringing a bad name to the image of the Armed Forces in general.