Monthly Archives: October 2022

Sanjay Bumbroo
Tribune News Service
Mohali, May 17

Ex-DGP Punjab Sumedh Singh Saini on Sunday appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in a case registered against him and other policemen in abduction and disappearance of Balwant Singh Multani in Mataur police station.

Senior Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Singh Chahal said the former DGP had arrived at 4 pm before the SIT and the questioning continued till 5.30 pm. He said the SIT had questioned him about the case, the details of which cannot be revealed.

The roads leading to the office of the SSP had been sealed by the police till ex-DGP Saini appeared before the SIT.

According to sources, the police had cordoned off the area after Saini had requested the police for the same as he did not wish to meet anyone else except the SIT.

Pertinently ex-DGP Saini was summoned by SIT after the local court on May 11 had granted him anticipatory bail.

The court had ordered Saini to join investigation within a week and also submit the passport to the police. The court had further restricted him not to come out of his house till the lockdown period in view of the coronavirus was over.

Following the directions of the court, Saini had submitted his passport and gave undertaking that he was ready to join the investigations and was residing at the said address.

Earlier the Mohali police had constituted the SIT headed by Superintendent of Police Harmandep Singh Hans (Investigation) along with Deputy Superintendent of Police Bikramjit Singh Brar and Inspector Rajiv Kumar SHO Mataur police station to probe the case.

Palwinder Singh Multani, brother of victim Balwant Singh, had filed a complaint against the former DGP in Mohali on May 6 and the case was registered under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 344 (wrongful confinement), 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to exhort confession) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy).

ribune News Service

New Delhi, May 21

Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar on Thursday said ways were being found to reduce the wage and pension bill at the Ministry of Defence. Addressing a wider strategic issue, he said the Indian Ocean Region was becoming “a threat” like the South China Sea (SCS).

The latter was the obvious unstated reference to China’s recent activities in the Indian Ocean, including building artificial islands near Maldives and the ongoing tussle in the contested hydrocarbon rich waters of the SCS.

He delivered a talk on “Covid-19, Resource Crunch and Defence modernization” and later answered questions at a web-seminar conducted by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) here.

On the Indian Ocean, he answered questions on “blue economy” euphuism for marine, fishing, minerals and energy, when he said security needs in Indian Ocean will have to be addressed, adding that the means of doing it are best left to experts.

On pensions, he said expenses rose from Rs 32,000 crore few years back to Rs 1,33,000 crore. “We have to look at ways to reduce pension and wage bill to free money for capital and modernisation,” he said. Possible extension of service (for jawans) which will reduce pension bill and long-term pension liabilities,” Dr Kumar said.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 17

A senior Himachal Pradesh Police officer has revealed that Chinese helicopters intruded several km iide Indian airspace in the state on two occasions last month.

Rajesh Dharmani, Superintendent of Police, Lahaul-Spiti district which shares the international border with China, told a section of the media that a Chinese helicopter had entered 12-15 km into India in the Sumdo area on April 11. Then, on April 20 another Chinese helicopter intruded into the same area.

The area in question lies to the south of Demchok in Ladakh, a region that sees significant Chinese activity and incursions. Earlier this month, there were reports of a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh and Sikkim.

A senior officer at Headquarters Western Command, Chandimandir, under whose jurisdiction the area falls, however, declined to comment on the matter, saying that only the central government would respond to reports of any such cross border incident.

He added that all activities along the border are monitored by different agencies regularly and any untoward or unusual incident is reported and shared amongst them as per established protocols. The peacetime management of the border is with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Forces that maintains posts on the zero line.

There have been reported instances of Chinese helicopters violating Indian airspace in Himachal Pradesh earlier. Apart from Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur is the other district in the state that shares borders with China. The Western Command’s formation, 26 Infantry Brigade that is responsible for this area, is headquartered in Pooh, which is about 11 km from the border as the crow flies.

A limited cross-border trade amongst locals on both sides is also conducted through the Sipki La pass along the Sutlej river during summers.

New Delhi, May 21

In a firm response, New Delhi has rejected Beijing’s suggestions that its troops had crossed the border and instead maintained Chinese troops had recently undertaken activity hindering India’s normal patrolling patterns.

“Any suggestion that Indian troops had undertaken activity across the LAC in the western sector or the Sikkim sector is not accurate. Indian troops are fully familiar with the alignment of the LAC in the India-China border areas and abide by it scrupulously,” said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

Maintaining that improvement of India-China ties hinged on peace and tranquillity in border areas, he pointed to several bilateral mechanisms to resolve such situations. — TN

Tribune News Service

Mandi, May 18

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) today reopened the Manali-Leh highway to vehicular movement afte six months.

Snow-clearance work on the highway was being carried out since February.

Despite an acute shortage of labourers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the BRO, in comparison to the previous years, has cleared the road much earlier this year. Last year, the highway was restored to traffic on June 10.

The BRO used remote-controlled snow cutters and dozers for the first time in the region to speed up the snow-clearance work despite many challenges.

Brig MS Baghi, Chief Engineer, Dipak Project, also visited the Baralacha pass today to congratulate the BRO team for the early restoration of the highway.

DC, Lahaul-Spiti, KK Saroch said nine tankers of Indian Oil moved towards Leh from Lahaul side.

The cross-border firing started in Degwar sector around 8:40 am on 17 May, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army. No casualty has been reported on the Indian side thus far.

ammu: The Pakistan Army on Sunday opened fire and shelled forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said.

The cross-border firing started in Degwar sector around 8:40 am, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army, the spokesman said.

He said there was no report of any casualty on the Indian side in the Pakistani firing.

The Pakistani firing ended over a week-long lull along the LoC.

Also read: Global lockdown and Covid crisis haven’t stopped Pakistan from its anti-India agenda

A gun battle broke out between security forces and terrorists in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday morning, officials said. An Army jawan laid down his life in the encounter which is still underway, officials said on Sunday.

IGP Jammu, Mukesh Singh said that one terrorist has also been killed in the ongoing encounter. The slain terrorist belongs to Hizbul Mujahideen. Another terrorist has been injured in the exchange of fire, police sources informed.

According to inputs from sources, a terrorist has been identified by the forces by the name Auqaaf – an associate of slain Haroon Abbas Wani.

“On a specific police input, an operation was launched late last night in Doda district. An encounter has started just now,” police spokesperson and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manoj Sheeri said. He said further details shall be shared later.

There has been a spurt in terror activities across J&K amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jammu’s Doda—comprising Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts which have been declared militancy free—have also witnessed terror attacks and related activities amid the lockdown.

A day after Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief Riyaz Naikoo was killed in Kashmir, security forces on May 7 arrested an overground worker of the outfit from Doda district. He was identified as Raqib Alam, 22, son of Seeraj Din of Swanda village.

Also read: In Hizbul’s Kashmir terror team, ‘military adviser’ is most brutal

Security forces on April 17 eliminated two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, who had hacked a special police officer (SPO) to death with an axe and critically injured another on April 13 in Dachhan area of Kishtwar district.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a charge sheet against six people, including three slain Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorists and three arrested overground workers of the terror group, for providing support to Pakistan-based terrorists to kill BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet Parihar in Jammu’s Kishtwar.

Also read: Saifullah Mir aka Ghazi Haider is Hizbul’s new face of terror in Kashmir

The charge sheet has been filed in the special NIA Court, Jammu against the six accused under Sections 302, 120B, 109 and 34 of the Jammu and Kashmir State Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), Sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 25(1A) and 25 of the Arms Act.

The Parihar brothers were shot at point-blank range outside their house on November 1, 2018, when they were returning home after closing their shop.

Meanwhile, Pakistan also violated ceasefire in Malti and Digwar areas of Poonch district on Sunday morning prompting Indian Army to retaliate in equal measure.

Jammu, May 22

Pakistan continued violating ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) for the fifth consecutive day on Friday by using small arms and mortars in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch and Rajouri districts.

For the fifth consecutive day, Pakistan army used small arms and was shelling with mortars to target the Indian positions on the LoC in the two districts.

Defence ministry spokesman, Colonel Devender Anand told IANS, “On May 22, 2020, at about 3.30 a.m., Pakistan initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars along Line of Control in Krishna Ghati Sector, District Poonch (J&K).

“Indian army is retaliating befittingly,” he said.

The force said that again at about 7.20 a.m., Pakistan initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation in the Nowshera Sector in Rajouri District in Jammu. The Indian Army was giving the befitting reply to this also, said the army.

Pakistan has been frequently violating the bilateral ceasefire agreement signed between the two countries in October 2003.

Senior army officers believe these ceasefire violations are a deliberate attempt by the Pakistan army to give fire cover to terrorists so that they can sneak into the Indian side of the LoC.

The Pakistani Army has been continuously targeting the Keran Valley, Poonch, Uri Sector, Krishna Ghati and Akhnoor sectors in the Union Territory.

In 2019, a total 3,200 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan across the LoC were reported as compared to 1,629 incidents in 2018, the Ministry of Defence had stated.

IANS

Officers Management in the Army is demanding recognition as a controversial issue that has reached cul de sac.  This clarion call comes with five rationales. One, say within the next two/three years, the armed forces will be prepared for Integrated Theatre Commands.  This will have deep repercussions on the Officer Cadre promotional structure, as the three services follow a dissimilar path in entirety, and inter-se seniority is a bugbear currently. Two, the Hon’ble Supreme Court decision on Women Officers has significantly opened the field for their taking over Command of units, which will also have a material effect. Three, the promotion opportunities for commissioned officers from all arms and services, should largely be similar, to be motivating enough to new inductee Young Officers to retain a modicum of ambition. That does not exist presently for the Services officers. Four, warfare is dramatically changing, the foci is shifting to modern, information age conflicts.  There would be a transition to newer units and to the new cutting edge in warfare.   And, five, cases are yet subjudice in the Hon’ble Supreme Court for allocation of additional vacancies at higher ranks to combat arms, the decision to which will have a more far-reaching effect.

The Army has to resolve the internal officer’s career management policies, which have been under considerable strain for the last nearly twenty years.   It is necessary to first address the Army’s imbroglio, with a short backgrounder, though majorly, it will be known to all readers.  Consequent to the lessons learnt of the 1999 Kargil War, it was considered necessary to manage the reduction of ages of officers commanding infantry battalions and brigades. With that term of reference, AV Singh Committee (AVSC) was formed, which came up with a mathematical model (colloquially later called Command Exit Model – CEM). The chronology that followed needs recounting with certain specifics:

• The CEM was based upon two variables – the Command assignments allocated to an arm or service, and the tenure in command. The first variable, the numbers of Command assignments, was left open-ended by the AVSC and has consequently witnessed large increments.  The second variable, the command tenures was fixed, with a wide span from Infantry Commanding Officers (COs) having 30 months to Services COs of 60 months. AVSC having been approved by the Union Cabinet, made the Report as if etched in stone for times immemorial, except in 2016, when in a judgment, the Hon’ble Supreme down-scaled the command tenures for the Corps of Engineers, Signals and Air Defence.
• AVSC rested on many basic premises, the most important of which was to make Short Service Commission (SSC) attractive, to ensure the ratio of Permanent Commission (PC) to SSC to be as near to 1:1 as possible. This would have enabled batch construction at intake in a manner that would have retained equivalence in promotability at the level of Lt Col to Colonel (for taking over Command). The second important premise was lateral absorption of Army Officers in other Governmental Ministries. Despite the two pay commissions – 6^th and 7^th, and countless representations, these two have not fructified. The SSC has remained singularly unattractive as an intake option, and PC: SSC ratio has largely remained in favour of PC, up to the extent of 1:4.7, with an immensely adverse effect on promotional structures.  With the finite number of promotion avenues to Colonel, say 500 a year, and with say 1600 under consideration, the promotability ratio reduces to a little over 30%.  However, cumulated with command tenures variation, the promotability can vary between 20 to 60%, between various arms and services causing great consternation. Number of Command assignments at Colonel rank also have a commensurate effect on balance colonel vacancies – for example, if the total command assignments were 1500, and total Colonels authorised on establishment were 5500, then balance 4000 vacancies were allocated on the pro-rata of the ratios of the command assignments held by that arm or service. Hence, the race commenced on designating more and more command assignments by each arm and service.
• Since 2011 to 2019, there have been a number of Army-internal and MoD study groups that have delved into the issue. The first broad based study group in 2011-2013 was headed by an esteemed Army Commander, had made important recommendations. Subsequently, seven or eight (one looses count) studies were undertaken, even by the College of Defence Management, though none met success on the altar of unanimity, or reached fruition by dedicated decision making.
• In the interregnum, the CEM reached the stage of litigation at the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) initially and Hon’ble Supreme Court later. Being subjudice, the issue was denied the requisite opportunity to be addressed internally as an Army-Government policy. While in 2015, the AFT had stuck down the CEM, the Hon’ble Supreme Court upheld it in 2016.  The Hon’ble Supreme Court also allocated additional vacancies at Colonel Rank to the Corps of Signals, Engineers and Air Defence, which still did not benefit the Services.  The case is yet subjudice, for the same arms seeking commensurate vacancies at even higher ranks.

Having broadly chronologised the last sixteen years of CEM, it is apparent that the issue has far-reaching ramifications. The Army has yet to define command, whether it is designated on the basis of the strength of personnel in a unit, equipment held or based upon the functionality of operational or administrative tasking and financial outlay. Indeed in retrospective, many command assignments may not measure up to the original rationale.  In trying to adjust to meeting some satisfaction, allocation of vacancies has witnessed many a tweak and a number of loan vacancies, all of which have further muddled the issue.  With the passage of time the positions of arms and services have hardened, with all silo-ed in individualistic concerns and believing in their indispensability and meritocracy!

The Army has large officer corps with over 42500 officers, all of the high calibre and near incessantly employed in operations.  Career management of the officer corps is a sacred responsibility. The issue has procrastinated for a very long time and cannot be allowed to fester on the doorsteps of the Courts and be decided through a litigative process.  Inability to create a policy bespeaks of avoidance of an all-important measure of cohesiveness of the organisation. Also, individual Court decisions on petitions provide solace to a number of litigants within finite numbers of promotional assignments, but it would have a corresponding negative effect on the satisfaction of many others.

The issues that need addressal at this juncture are holistic in nature. Two of these must be considered before making recommendations. First, the CEM was approved by the Union Cabinet and second, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has upheld the CEM. Any significant change hence cannot be initiated internally; it will be challengeable with the Government or litigable in the Courts.  Some views are proffered below:

• Short service commission is not much sought after, as it causes a mid-life crisis for the officers who do not achieve permanence in the Army. Making of Short Service Commission attractive, is absolutely mandatory, for which detailed proposals exist, like for a ten year SSC, allow an officer last year of study in a professional change-of-career institute, like IIMs and IITs ( for E-MBA or M Tech), and then placement. A gratuity had been recommended that provides for each year of service rendered in the Army. This must be pushed in with vigour. This will assist in constructing a balanced PC-SSC batch for each arm and service, and assure better than 50% promotability for all from Lt Col to Colonel.
• The Hon’ble Supreme Court has given a decision on Women Officers being granted permanent commission and command of units. This will also mandate a share of vacancies at Colonel rank.  A proposal on the methodology of implementation was recommended earlier.[1]
• Tri-service organisations are a reality, and the difference in service profile of equivalent ranks is irksome in managing command and control. With Theatre Commands this will be even more problematic.  The joint-service experienced officer will be obligatory, prior to reaching higher rungs in the three or joint Services organisation.
• New realms of warfare– like cyber, information, precision and hypersonic projectiles, space and drones, are in themselves wholesome in nature, and maybe deciders of future wars. There will be requirement of reconfiguring specialist multi-domain warfare units in future, with differing command expertise, equipment profiles and manpower. For career management, these will have to put inside the CEM.
• Command has to be redefined. The logic of deciding command was that a unit ought to be operational in nature (which includes arms and services units so committed), manpower or platform (equipment) oriented. The quantum of equipment that a unit ought to be authorised with, has to be credible enough for the operational task.

Status quo is not the answer.  To ameliorate it, there are many ways and time is ripe to take the bull by the horns!  It is clear, that this cannot be done internally – for there are too many vested, parochial interests. Even at the very higher rungs, individual corps/ regimental parochialism will mar effective visionary decision making, and subsume broader organisational interests.  Any significant change will require obtaining Union Cabinet approval, superceding the previous cabinet approval and issue of a formal policy.

There can be three options. One, a well conceptualised Intra-Arm/Service Track 2, (that can involve retired seniors officers too) that will bring about a rapprochement, a balance and a via-media within the parameters of laid down CEM. At this juncture such an option seems a non-starter, due to sharp cleavages. Two, under the powers of the Union Government, a Blue Ribbon Committee be nominated, to study the gamut of the issue and make recommendations, for a Cabinet approval. Three, an HR Management Consultancy to be engaged through the Government, to study, obtain approvals, facilitate implementation and undertake a couple of years of hand-holding!  There are also Research Organisations that specialise in Human Resource issues, like XLRI, Jamshedpur and TISS, Mumbai which can be requested to study the same. Though there may be resistance to an outsider agency, for lack of in depth knowledge, for HR Professionals, adjusting policies may be a minor impediment. It is opined that obtaining professional expertise from outside the realm of Army-Government should be the best.  This will also require Government sanction/ approvals. The Courts can be informed that the issue has been taken up at the Governmental policy levels for decision-making, and details can be submitted on finalisation.

In sum, there has been undue procrastination, that has caused ill-will and it needs to put behind.  Sooner the better!

End Notes

[1] Rakesh Sharma, Supreme Court Decision on Women Officers: Need for Holistic Policy Planning, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), 20 Feb 2020, accessed at https://www.claws.in/supreme-court-decision-on-women-officers-need-for-holistic-policy-planning/

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 18.

An influential Chinese newspaper on Monday indicated the opening of another flashpoint on the Sino-India border but played down the possibility of serious tensions as had happened at Doklam in 2017

Global Times, that advocates a hardheaded foreign policy approach, quoted unnamed military sources as saying that Chinese border defence troops have made necessary moves in response to “India’s recent, illegal construction of defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region.”

The media outlet put its own spin for discounting the build-up of tensions in a sector that was last in the news during the 1962 conflict. “India is merely seeking to divert its domestic attention due to unsuccessful handling of Covid pandemic, and China has a military advantage there. So, the Indian military won’t escalate the incident,” it said quoting Chinese analysts.

The paper accused India of crossing the boundary line in Galwan Valley region of Ladakh and entering Chinese territory. “The Indian side built defence fortifications and obstacles to disrupt Chinese border defence troops’ normal patrol activities, purposefully instigated conflicts and attempted to unilaterally change the current border control situation.”

Indian media too has been reporting tensions in this sector for the past one week.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not commented on this flare-up but it reacted to troop face-offs last week in two sectors by expressing confidence in the ability of the existing mechanisms to resolve the issue.

The MEA also suggested that the face-offs were not part of a grand strategy by explaining that they occasionally occur due to difference in perception of the alignment of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). “Situations have arisen on the ground that could have been avoided if we had a common perception of the LAC,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Shrivastav had then said.

The spokesperson also noted that the India-China border has largely been peaceful because PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have “directed their militaries to earnestly implement various confidence building measures agreed upon between the two sides”.