Monthly Archives: August 2018

New Delhi, April 27

The 52-year-old wife of a former IAF wing commander was found dead at her house in Dwarka, police said on Saturday.

The deceased had been identified as Neenu Jain, they said.

According to a senior police officer, the father of the deceased called her on Thursday night and asked about her health as she was not well. He wanted to visit her but she refused, he said.

On Friday morning, he again called her but she did not pick up the phone. Thereafter, her father and brother came to see her but noticed that the gate of the house was locked from outside, police said.

They entered the house from her neighbour’s side and saw Jain lying on floor unconscious, they said.

They called the police and rushed the woman to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead, police said, adding that the call was received at around 9 am.

A mobile phone, some cash and jewellery was found missing from the house, following which a case under Sections 302 (murder) and 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code had been registered and investigation initiated, police said, adding that the cause of the death is yet to be ascertained.

Neenu’s husband is a retired Indian Air Force Wing Commander and currently working as a commercial pilot with IndiGo.

The couple has a son and a daughter. While the son, who works in an MNC in Noida, visits his parents on weekends, the daughter is a doctor in Goa, police said. PTI  

Jammu, April 12

The Indian and Pakistani armies traded heavy fire on the Line of Control (LoC) on Friday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, the Defence Ministry said.

“At about 8.30 am, Pakistan initiated unprovoked shelling using mortars and firing small arms along the LoC in Sawjian sector,” Ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand said.

The Army retaliated “befittingly”, he added.

Intermittent firing exchanges were still going on. IANS

Meghna Girish wants to know why a recommendation for Shaurya Chakra for her son Major Girish, killed in 2016 in J&K, was changed to an official report mentioning a soldier’s gallant action.

New Delhi: A soft-spoken social media-savvy mother is fighting for what she believes is the rightful “honour for her son”, and in the process, has turned the spotlight on the Army’s gallantry award procedure.

“An unsung hero is better than an insulted one,” said Meghna Girish, the mother of Major Akshay Girish, who was among seven soldiers killed in a terror attack on an Army camp in Nagrota, Jammu and Kashmir, in November 2016.

Stung by the Army naming her son under “Mention in Despatches (MID)” as opposed to awarding him the Shaurya Chakra — as recommended by his commanding officer for his “gallant action” — Meghna has been leading a campaign for Major Girish.

The Shaurya Chakra is the Army’s third highest peacetime decoration while an MID is just an official report mentioning a soldier’s gallant action in an attack. It is written by a senior officer and sent to the Army high command.

“I am not insisting on a gallantry award for Akshay,” Meghna told ThePrint. “What I am asking for is an explanation as to why my son did not get the Shaurya Chakra as recommended by his senior officers. I have not accepted the MID and it should be withdrawn because an unsung hero is better than an insulted hero.”

Her campaign has now received a major setback.

Army sources have told ThePrint that Major Girish’s family has been informed that a review committee, set up by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in January, has concluded that the MID award to the late Major cannot be upgraded or withdrawn.

Meghna had met Sitharaman, helped by BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, after which the minister had tweeted on 3 January, saying, “As assured by the Raksha Mantri, a Committee has been constituted with members, inter alia, as suggested by Meghna Girish to look into the supreme sacrifice made by her son Major Akshay Girish. Smt. Meghna Girish has been invited to depose before and assist the Committee”.

Meghna told ThePrint that on 25 March, she again wrote to Sitharaman reminding her of the committee.

“Elections are around the corner and while we hope to see our government back, you may or may not be our Raksha Mantri,” she wrote. “I appeal to you not to shatter the faith and trust reposed in you to resolve the long outstanding issue of due justice and honour to Major Akshay Girish. Please communicate your decision before 31st March 2019.”

The Major’s mother said on 30 March, an Army car stopped by her gate at 8 pm and some officers showed her a file. “The file just corroborates Akshay’s leadership, bravery and sacrifice to save lives. It neither referred to an award nor made a recommendation,” she said.

The Nagrota Attack

Just two months after the Army’s surgical strike in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, dressed in police uniforms, struck the Army’s 166 Field Regiment artillery unit in Nagrota on 29 November 2016. The unit comes under the 14 Corps.

On that day, Major Girish led a quick reaction team (QRT) at about 6.15 am to fight off three heavily-armed terrorists who had managed to sneak into the officer’s residential quarters by killing four soldiers at the entry gate. The families, which included children, were at risk.

According to the Major’s unit, 51 Engineers, he faced a hidden terrorist at close range. Despite being hit by multiple bullets, he returned fire for several minutes until a grenade, launched from a terrorist’s under-barrel grenade launcher, blew up his thighs.

His body was recovered only during combing operations late in the evening after the three terrorists had been killed.

Mother argues that CO recommended award

Meghna said the commanding officer of the 51 Engineers had initiated the note for the slain officer to be awarded the Shaurya Chakra.

“This was further endorsed by the GoC of the 14 Corps and by the Northern Army Commander,” she said. “But it got downgraded to the MID at the Army headquarters. Why?”

She has several messages from the Major’s peers, those of the special forces who led the operations and even senior officers, telling her how brave her son was.

Meghna further said that when she first met the Army chief, Gen. Bipin Rawat, in October 2017, he was very courteous and said he would look into the issue.

“When I met him again on 2 January 2018, he said that the citation written by the CO was not very strong. I agree that that the CO did not have battle experience and hence the citation could not have been very strong,” she said. “Even if the writing was not so strong, how come all of them, including the then Northern Commander, recommended him? What is the weight of all these officers then?”

Calling it a “systemic failure”, she now wants the procedure, for the grant of the gallantry awards, to be made more transparent so that the families of those killed “don’t have to go through this again”.

Army sources, however, told ThePrint that due diligence has been followed in the case. “From the first time he was awarded for the Nagrota operations to now, when the review committee looked into the whole issue, due diligence was followed,” a source said.

Asked about Meghna’s allegation that the Army was hesitant to award the Major with the Shaurya Chakra as the attack was an embarrassment for the force, the source added, “Major Kunal Gosavi was awarded Shaurya Chakra (posthumously) for the same operation. There is a proper mechanism in place for awards which has multiple checks and balances”.

The Army’s own Court of Inquiry into the terror attack is still on.

Also read: Not just Abhinandan’s story: Next time you cheer for soldiers, remember their families too

The process for gallantry awards

The Army follows a multi-tiered process in selecting personnel for a gallantry award.

The first note for a gallantry award is initiated by the commanding officer. This is then sent to the brigade headquarters, which then forwards it to the division headquarters with remarks.

From here, the file moves to the corps headquarters where it is processed by a board. The file eventually moves to the command headquarters where another board, consisting of four to five officers, reviews it.

“Only when the GoC-in-C of the command approves the board’s decision that the file is moved to the Army headquarters where another board consisting of the vice chief, the military secretary, the chief of military intelligence and others review it,” a source explained. “Their recommendation is sent to the Army chief who after his remarks sends it to the MoD for final approval.”

Asked if there is scope for improvement, former DGMO Lt Gen, Vinod Bhatia (retd) told ThePrint, “It is a proper system but there is no perfect system in the world.” He added that there are multiple checks and balances in place to ensure that the system works well.

Also read: PM Modi dedicates National War Memorial to India’s fallen soldiers after independence

Spike in gallantry awards

There has been a spike in gallantry awards over the recent years in comparison to earlier wars, such as the ones fought in 1965 and 1971.

The Army source, however, explained this by citing the duration of the wars.

“You will have to look at the duration of these wars,” the source said. “For example, the Kargil battle went on for three months and hence you will see a larger number of awards in comparison to earlier ones.”

“Also, the Indian Army is involved in day-to-day operations in a big way. And hence it would be completely wrong to compare today’s scenario with the earlier ones,” the source added.

Lt Gen Bhatia (retd) argued that awards are a motivation but underlined that laid down parameters have to be met.

“There is a certain yardstick that an act of gallantry has to fall within,” he said. “An award is a great motivation. A unit citation is also a great motivator. With Army involved in daily operations at the LoC and in Kashmir, the number of awards will naturally rise.”

Yogi Adityanath had made the controversial remark at a rally in Ghaziabad on Sunday. “Congress people used to serve terrorists biryani, but Modiji’s Sena (Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Army) gives them only bullets and bombs.

NEW DELHI: 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was reprimanded sharply by the Election Commission on Friday, five days after he referred to the Indian Army as “Modiji ki Sena”, or Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s army, at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh. “Be careful in your utterances in the future,” news agency PTI quoted the poll body as saying.

Yogi Adityanath had made the controversial remark at a rally in Ghaziabad on Sunday. “Congress people used to serve terrorists biryani, but Modiji’s Sena (Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Army) gives them only bullets and bombs. That’s the difference. Congress people use “ji” for terrorists like Masood Azhar, but under the leadership of PM Modi, the BJP government is breaking the backs of terrorists by striking their camps,” he said.

The comment was not received well by opposition leaders and former army officials, who maintained that apolitical entities such as the armed forces should not be dragged into electoral politics. “It is shocking to hear the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister referring to the Indian Army as the ‘Modi Sena’. Such blatant usurping of our beloved Indian Army is an insult and a humiliation,” said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Even Union Minister VK Singh rebuked Yogi Adityanath, saying that the “army does not belong to any individual but to the entire nation”.

Former Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas (retired) asked the Election Commission to look into possible violation of the poll code, following which it sought an explanation from Yogi Adityanath yesterday.

Yogi Adityanath made the remark despite the Election Commission issuing clear instructions last month that the armed forces, being “apolitical and neutral stakeholders in a modern democracy”, should not be brought up in poll campaigns.

Guilty on 2 counts: ‘Fraternising’ with a local, ‘away from place of duty in operational area’

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 31

Major Leetul Gogoi, who is facing court-martial proceedings, is likely to lose seniority as a punishment for “fraternising” with a local woman in Srinagar last year.

Army officials here in Delhi confirmed that the court-martial proceedings against Major Gogoi had been completed and the same will need to be okayed by the Army headquarters. Major Gogoi will have the option of appealing against the verdict.

Loss of seniority would mean Major Gogoi would not pick up his next rank of Lt Colonel as per schedule on completing 13 years in service. The delay in his promotion will depend on the quantum of loss in seniority that is finally okayed.

The court martial was ordered in August last year after a court of inquiry against Major Gogoi had issued orders to initiate disciplinary action on two counts — for ‘fraternising with locals in spite of instructions to the contrary’ and being away from the place of duty while in an operational area.

Major Gogoi was detained by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on May 23 last year from a Srinagar hotel along with a local woman and another soldier. The detained woman was 19 years old and had gone with the officer of her own volition, Jammu and Kashmir Police had said. Hence, no police case was made out. However, the Army rules did not allow Major Gogoi to be let off without punishment.

During the court-martial proceedings, the woman had expressed her unwillingness to depose and informed the Army authorities that she had given a statement before a magistrate and the same should be treated as her final stand.

She also said that she had become a friend of the Army officer through his fake Facebook profile where he had named himself Ubaid Arman. The court-martial process against his driver, Sameer Malla, who was facing charges of unauthorised absence from the unit, was also completed recently in the Kashmir valley and he is likely to be given a “severe reprimand”.

Immediately after the incident came to light last year, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had said exemplary punishment would be given to Major Gogoi if he was found guilty of any offence.

Major Gogoi hit the headlines after he tied a man to a jeep purportedly as a shield against stone-pelters during polling in the Srinagar Lok Sabha byelection on April 9, 2017. Gen Rawat had then awarded him and supported his act.

File photo of Imran Khan. Reuters

Beijing, April 27

Pakistan’s relationship with India remains the “only problem” for peace and stability in the region, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said and expressed hope of establishing a “civilised relationship” with New Delhi after the Lok Sabha elections are over.

Unless there is peace and stability in region, economic prosperity is difficult for Pakistan, and that is what right now the Pakistan government is working on, Khan who is in China to take part in the 2^nd Belt and Road Forum, (BRF) said while addressing the China International Cultural Communication Centre here on Friday.

Khan said Pakistan hopes that the political solution in Afghanistan will succeed and the war-ravaged country attains stability.

“Whatever happens in Afghanistan affects the Pakistan’s bordering areas. So, we are working for a peaceful region. We have decent relationship with Iran and we are trying to strengthen them,” he was quoted as saying by state-run APP news agency.

“The only problem right now is our relationship with India. But we are hoping that after the Indian elections, we will again hope to have a civilised relationship with India too,” he said.

Since his arrival here on April 25 to take part in the BRF meeting which concluded on Saturday, the Cricketer-turned-politician refrained from speaking on India-Pakistan ties which in the last two months have experienced severe strains following the February 14 Pulwama terror attack carried out by the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e Mohammed which killed 40 CRPF personnel.

His emphasis during the visit appears to be firming up more projects for the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of China’s ambitious trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The BRI is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature global infrastructure policy. First announced in 2013, the project promises to build ports, roads and railways to revive the ancient Silk Road and create new trade corridors linking China to Asia, Africa and Europe.

The BRF forum aims to showcase the progress of the BRI since it began in 2013. The CPEC is opposed by India as it is being laid through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In his address at the roundtable meeting of the BRF forum presided by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Khan termed the CPEC as a transformational project which would play an important role in boosting connectivity between the Gwadar Port in Pakistan and Xinjiang region of China.

He also underscored the importance of greater connectivity among the BRI participating countries and proposed four specific areas for particular focus, including digital connectivity, mobility of labour, cultural connectivity and sharing best practices in knowledge and innovation.

To advance these proposals, among other things, Khan also suggested setting up of BRI Tourism Corridor to improve labour skills and mobility and creating multi-lingual digital platforms.

He also mooted cooperation among the BRI countries for poverty alleviation and campaign against corruption. In his speech at the cultural centre, Khan said the BRI had come as a blessing for Pakistan.

“Belt and Road Initiative has given us an opportunity to catch up with other nations. CPEC has provided an opportunity for Pakistan to attract investment not just from China, which is the fastest growing economy in the world now. So obviously, China is a main home from where we hope to invite investors,” he said.

Khan also met Managing Director of International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing and reportedly discussed the bailout package.

Pakistan is currently undergoing a severe balance of payment crisis, despite large infusion of investments from China, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The meeting reviewed the relationship between Pakistan and the IMF.

Khan identified the areas of reform and initiatives being undertaken by his government to stabilise the economy, control inflation and achieve fiscal balance, the APP report said.

The two leaders agreed on the importance of the IMF programme and to work towards an agreement for which a fund’s delegation is coming to Islamabad.

The two sides agreed on the need for a social safety net for the vulnerable groups of the society. PTI

Kaveesha Kohli
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 12

Even though it was 20 years ago that Major Harminder Pal Singh had laid down his life protecting the nation during the Kargil conflict, he continues to live on in his family’s memories. Major Singh was shot by the enemy in Baramulla district of north Kashmir on April 13, 1999.

He was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his service to the nation.

A student of Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Kharar, and Government College, Mohali, it was always his dream to join the armed forces.

His father Harpal Singh had retired as a Captain from the Army. The family lives in Sector 70, Mohali.

“He had joined the NCC. I think he was also inspired by the fact that I was in the armed forces,” recalls Capt Harpal Singh (retd), proudly.

Major Singh had first cleared the exam to become a pilot in the Indian Air Force, but did not meet the medical requirements. Dedicated to the cause of serving the nation, he later got commissioned in the 18 Grenadiers.

On the fateful day, Major Singh was engaged in an “eyeball-to-eyeball encounter” with three militants in a remote region of north Kashmir. He was shot through the temple by the third militant, but only after he had shot the other two.

The Major led the commando platoon of his battalion, in what was subsequently described as a “dare-devil” operation in Sadurkotbala village in Manasbal.

The family received the news of his martyrdom around 7.30 pm on April 13, 1999. Major Singh’s son Navteshwar Singh, who is now a student of Punjab Engineering College, was only three months old then.

“At that time, thousands of Sikhs had gathered at Anandpur Sahib on Baisakhi. The then CM of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, got the news of my son’s demise at Anandpur Sahib where he expressed his condolences,” recalls Capt Harpal Singh. He said the government had been supportive of the family since his son’s martyrdom.

Major Singh’s wife was awarded a job in the office of the District Food and Supplies Controller, Punjab.

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Former Air Force chief NC Suri told India Today that he had not signed any such letter. In fact, Air Marshall Suri has written another letter to the President’s office clarifying his stance. General SF Rodrigues said he had no idea about the letter and called it fake.

Former Air Force chief NC Suri and former Army chief General SF Rodrigues have denied signing a letter supposedly written by military veterans to President Ram Nath Kovind urging him to stop politicians from using the defence forces for political purpose.

Suri told India Today that he had not signed any such letter. In fact, Air Marshall Suri has written another letter to the President’s office clarifying his stance. General SF Rodrigues said he had no idea about the letter and called it fake.

“Don’t know what it (letter) is all about. All my life, we have been apolitical. After 42 years as an officer, it’s a little late to change. Always put India first. Don’t know who these people are, but this is a classic manifestation of fake news,” said General SF Rodrigues (retired).

The controversial letter which was made public on Thursday urged Kovind to “take all necessary steps to urgently direct all political parties that they must forthwith desist from using the military, military uniforms or symbols, and any actions by military formations or personnel, for political purposes or to further their political agendas”.