One scam after the other hits one of India's oldest paramilitary force. Recent investigations reveal that the Assam Rifles fund, meant for the welfare of the jawans, were spent on silk sarees and scotch whisky
Showing posts with label Assam Rifles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assam Rifles. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Assam Rifles funds used to shower gifts on home ministry officials
One scam after the other hits one of India's oldest paramilitary force. Recent investigations reveal that the Assam Rifles fund, meant for the welfare of the jawans, were spent on silk sarees and scotch whisky
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Director General Assam Rifles
MHA Probing Charges Against Assam Rifles DG: Antony
PTI | New Delhi | Sep 27, 2011
The Home Ministry is probing the charges of financial irregularities against Director General Assam Rifles Lt Gen Rameshwar Roy after the Defence Ministry forwarded to it the complaints against the officer.
"The ministry had received some complaints in this regard but the matter was forwarded to the Home Ministry," Defence Minister A K Antony told reporters today when asked to comment on charges of financial irregularities against the officer.
Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary organisation in the country and is commanded by Army officers sent on deputation to the Home Ministry.
Though the Home Ministry is still probing the charges against the officer, nothing had been found against him in the initial investigations and allegations seemed to be motivated, the sources had said.
Speaking on the issue, Army Chief General V K Singh on Friday had said that "appropriate action" would be taken in the case involving Roy.
"The issue is under investigation and we will take appropriate action as per the Army rules," he said.
Meanwhile, commenting on the probe ordered in the alleged Directorate General of Resettlement scam, the Minister said there will no compromise on the issue of corruption and anyone found guilty will be punished.
After an in-house inquiry of the Ministry detected irregularities in the resettlement of ex-servicemen, Antony referred the case to Serious Fraud Investigation Office under Corporate Affairs Ministry for further investigations.
Commenting on the Ministry's decision to put on hold the first joint venture between the Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) and Pipavav Shipyard, Antony said the step was taken after receiving complaints from two other companies.
On the rationale behind allowing shipyards to form joint ventures, the Minister said, "All the shipyards have full orders. They would have taken several years to complete them. In the present security scenario, we cannot wait for that long so we allowed joint ventures."
The Minister said that as a public sector entity, MDL has been nominated for several projects worth lakhs of crores and so, "they can't give (those projects) to the JV. For that, the JV should compete. Otherwise that will be exploitation."
He said the Ministry will take a decision soon on the issue and also evolve guidelines to plug any loopholes in the formation of JVs between PSUs and private sector companies.
MHA Probing Charges Against Assam Rifles DG: Antony
PTI | New Delhi | Sep 27, 2011
The Home Ministry is probing the charges of financial irregularities against Director General Assam Rifles Lt Gen Rameshwar Roy after the Defence Ministry forwarded to it the complaints against the officer.
"The ministry had received some complaints in this regard but the matter was forwarded to the Home Ministry," Defence Minister A K Antony told reporters today when asked to comment on charges of financial irregularities against the officer.
Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary organisation in the country and is commanded by Army officers sent on deputation to the Home Ministry.
Though the Home Ministry is still probing the charges against the officer, nothing had been found against him in the initial investigations and allegations seemed to be motivated, the sources had said.
Speaking on the issue, Army Chief General V K Singh on Friday had said that "appropriate action" would be taken in the case involving Roy.
"The issue is under investigation and we will take appropriate action as per the Army rules," he said.
Meanwhile, commenting on the probe ordered in the alleged Directorate General of Resettlement scam, the Minister said there will no compromise on the issue of corruption and anyone found guilty will be punished.
After an in-house inquiry of the Ministry detected irregularities in the resettlement of ex-servicemen, Antony referred the case to Serious Fraud Investigation Office under Corporate Affairs Ministry for further investigations.
Commenting on the Ministry's decision to put on hold the first joint venture between the Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) and Pipavav Shipyard, Antony said the step was taken after receiving complaints from two other companies.
On the rationale behind allowing shipyards to form joint ventures, the Minister said, "All the shipyards have full orders. They would have taken several years to complete them. In the present security scenario, we cannot wait for that long so we allowed joint ventures."
The Minister said that as a public sector entity, MDL has been nominated for several projects worth lakhs of crores and so, "they can't give (those projects) to the JV. For that, the JV should compete. Otherwise that will be exploitation."
He said the Ministry will take a decision soon on the issue and also evolve guidelines to plug any loopholes in the formation of JVs between PSUs and private sector companies.
MHA Probing Charges Against Assam Rifles DG: Antony
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Tsangdhar: Providing Communications 10 Oct 1962
Responsibility
I had to provide the line communication irrespective of the fact that I had no dispenser packs hardly any cable and even the full contingent of linemen some of those still en route. Every one who was fit and some not so fit cook barber dhobi and available linemen were pressed into collecting the few drums of cable from the Dropping Zone and making coils of the cable for hand laying.
Maj Ram Singh
It was the first time that I saw the famous Assam Rifles post at
Dhola from where it all had started. I was not much impressed by the few huts for living and may be a few rifle and LMG posts surrounded by trees bushes and no view or field of fire. It is there that I met Maj Ram Singh who had been sent by the CO to contact Gen Kaul and had some how missed him. It was also the last time I saw him.
CO's Compassion
Having completed the task it was night time by now I wanted to return back to Tsangdhar but the Commander would have none of it he ordered me to stay put for the night. He was a worried man expecting a Chinese reaction to the clash earlier in the morning possibly the same night. However he still had time and compassion to worry about his young Signal officer's welfare and safety night had fallen and it would have been fool hardy of me to try moving up the trail back to the DZ at Tsangdhar.
Sharing Sleeping Bag
Interestingly there was no food or place for me to sleep. I shared the one- man sleeping bag that is how the bags are designed with Maj Kharbanda. A unique experience luckily both of us were on the thin side even then we had to synchronise between the two of us whenever we wanted to turn in the sleeping bag which was fairly frequent on the hard rocky ground. Turning and twisting both of us spent the night like this.
Escape to Bhutan
I came back to Tsangdhar leaving very early and reaching there by 9 am in the morning. I had no food now for about 24 hours. I have been talking about food all the time rather lack of it but it does give one an idea of our administrative back up during OP Leghorn as the operation was known. Missing meals which had become with us a rule rather than exception since we either had no time to eat or no meals were available due to administrative failure. Having got used to this helped us later when we had to be without food for days together on our escape via Bhutan to India.
Brig Lakshman Singh VSM (Retd)
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Tawang September 1962 The Balloon goes up
Lull before the storm
It was the proverbial ‘Lull before the Storm’ that day on 8th of September of 1962, a Saturday, a weekend the legacy left by the British. In bracing cold Tawang at 10000feet plus was basking in bright sunshine. A clear day with the greens of the meadows, the deep blues of the sky, the silver of the river Tawang Chu flowing deep in the valley, the browns and reds of houses of the Tawang village, the majesty of the Tawang Monastery visible not far away was over powering. It was not too cold, not too hot but just pleasant Tawang that day was a tourist’s delight. However, there were no tourists in Tawang those days except the occasional VIP's who choppered to stay for lunch, give sermons, talk in platitudes and fly back again to civilisation in plains of Tezpur, Lucknow or Delhi.
Bde HQ
In any case it was too quiet and peaceful to resemble a noisy and bustling tourists resort with the Brigade HQ equally quiet. There was no officer present in the HQ except Lt Sharma the Brigade Ordnance Officer the duty-officer of the day; all others had gone off to attend a Bara Khana in one of the battalions.
Tension
It was my practice to go for an evening walk in the afternoon. I was reluctant to go out on this day as there was no one in the Bde HQ. However Lt Sharma insisted even though he was the duty officer. We had been lulled to the extent that even the duty officer was willing to leave his post with firm faith that nothing could happen especially in our Brigade Sector. We left via the Signal Centre as was my practice. It was all quiet there nothing on the air or line: some how too peaceful to my liking. We may have been away from the HQ at the most for an hour. However as we approached the HQ I could feel a tension in the air resulting in quickening of our pace. The scene had completely changed. It was getting dark and gloomy and there was unease in the atmosphere. Some thing was wrong very wrong.
Assam Rifles Post Surrounded
Wondering as to what had happened to bring about the sudden change both of us gingerly trooped in to the BM’s room apprehensive and expecting a rocket for our absence from the HQ where in every one seemed to have gathered. No one took notice of our entry. Kharbanda a bit worse for wear due to some extra beer incoherent with his eyes- bleary red and watering but a soldier to core - he was all decked up in full battle gear with his large pack ready for move. It transpired that Bingo the Assam Rifles post had been surrounded by more than 600 Chinese earlier in the day. This was according to a message received in a round about manner late in the evening; that is how the communication system was functioning those days. Kharbanda as we could see was all set to relieve the post single handed. All of us were more worried about him desperately trying to hold him back than the Chinese or Bingo. The scene would have definitely appeared a bit comical to an outsider ideal for a sequence in the war movies being produced in Bombay.
Suddenly Hindi Chini ‘bhai bhai’ became Hindi Chini ‘bye bye’
Ops Room Buzzing
Kharbanda’s small room, the telephone ringing continuously with incoming and out going calls to Tezpur where all of us of the Bde HQ had gathered resembled an ad hoc Operational Room. With so many of us crowding around the air had become charged with combined energy of diverse emotions; excitement apprehension uncertainty and even fear of the unknown all adding to the whole in various proportions depending on the attitude of the particular individual. With the BM being out of action Pereira the DQ the only possible link with the Commander at Tezpur and possibly me the Signals officer had a role to play others apart from the mess staff providing unending supply of mugs of coffee and tea were just hanging around trying to look involved and useful not unlike friends and relations holding vigil outside the Operating Theatre with some near and dear one on the surgeon’s table inside.
Commander Recalled
Willy- nilly the Brigade HQ swung into action Maj Pereira took charge of the situation. Commander was located in the guest room of the Mahar Regiment at the Tezpur airfield next door to the airfield from where his IAC plane was to take off early next morning carrying him thousands of miles away to Meerut in North India. The plane did take off the next morning. However his seat was empty. He took another seat but in a helicopter back to Tawang.
Brig Lakshman Singh, VSM (Retd)
It was the proverbial ‘Lull before the Storm’ that day on 8th of September of 1962, a Saturday, a weekend the legacy left by the British. In bracing cold Tawang at 10000feet plus was basking in bright sunshine. A clear day with the greens of the meadows, the deep blues of the sky, the silver of the river Tawang Chu flowing deep in the valley, the browns and reds of houses of the Tawang village, the majesty of the Tawang Monastery visible not far away was over powering. It was not too cold, not too hot but just pleasant Tawang that day was a tourist’s delight. However, there were no tourists in Tawang those days except the occasional VIP's who choppered to stay for lunch, give sermons, talk in platitudes and fly back again to civilisation in plains of Tezpur, Lucknow or Delhi.
Bde HQ
In any case it was too quiet and peaceful to resemble a noisy and bustling tourists resort with the Brigade HQ equally quiet. There was no officer present in the HQ except Lt Sharma the Brigade Ordnance Officer the duty-officer of the day; all others had gone off to attend a Bara Khana in one of the battalions.
Tension
It was my practice to go for an evening walk in the afternoon. I was reluctant to go out on this day as there was no one in the Bde HQ. However Lt Sharma insisted even though he was the duty officer. We had been lulled to the extent that even the duty officer was willing to leave his post with firm faith that nothing could happen especially in our Brigade Sector. We left via the Signal Centre as was my practice. It was all quiet there nothing on the air or line: some how too peaceful to my liking. We may have been away from the HQ at the most for an hour. However as we approached the HQ I could feel a tension in the air resulting in quickening of our pace. The scene had completely changed. It was getting dark and gloomy and there was unease in the atmosphere. Some thing was wrong very wrong.
Assam Rifles Post Surrounded
Wondering as to what had happened to bring about the sudden change both of us gingerly trooped in to the BM’s room apprehensive and expecting a rocket for our absence from the HQ where in every one seemed to have gathered. No one took notice of our entry. Kharbanda a bit worse for wear due to some extra beer incoherent with his eyes- bleary red and watering but a soldier to core - he was all decked up in full battle gear with his large pack ready for move. It transpired that Bingo the Assam Rifles post had been surrounded by more than 600 Chinese earlier in the day. This was according to a message received in a round about manner late in the evening; that is how the communication system was functioning those days. Kharbanda as we could see was all set to relieve the post single handed. All of us were more worried about him desperately trying to hold him back than the Chinese or Bingo. The scene would have definitely appeared a bit comical to an outsider ideal for a sequence in the war movies being produced in Bombay.
Suddenly Hindi Chini ‘bhai bhai’ became Hindi Chini ‘bye bye’
Ops Room Buzzing
Kharbanda’s small room, the telephone ringing continuously with incoming and out going calls to Tezpur where all of us of the Bde HQ had gathered resembled an ad hoc Operational Room. With so many of us crowding around the air had become charged with combined energy of diverse emotions; excitement apprehension uncertainty and even fear of the unknown all adding to the whole in various proportions depending on the attitude of the particular individual. With the BM being out of action Pereira the DQ the only possible link with the Commander at Tezpur and possibly me the Signals officer had a role to play others apart from the mess staff providing unending supply of mugs of coffee and tea were just hanging around trying to look involved and useful not unlike friends and relations holding vigil outside the Operating Theatre with some near and dear one on the surgeon’s table inside.
Commander Recalled
Willy- nilly the Brigade HQ swung into action Maj Pereira took charge of the situation. Commander was located in the guest room of the Mahar Regiment at the Tezpur airfield next door to the airfield from where his IAC plane was to take off early next morning carrying him thousands of miles away to Meerut in North India. The plane did take off the next morning. However his seat was empty. He took another seat but in a helicopter back to Tawang.
Brig Lakshman Singh, VSM (Retd)
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