After successfully leading ‘Operation All Out’ against militants in Kashmir, general officer commanding 15 Corps Lt. Gen A.K. Bhatt will hand over command to Lt. Gen. KVS Dhillon.

Bhatt is credited for presiding over one of the most successful anti-militancy operations in a decade during which 248 militants were killed and five others surrendered. He had taken over the command of 15 Corps, also called Chinar Corps, in February 2018.

Army sources in 15 Corps told THE WEEK that Bhatt will be placed as a military secretary in army headquarters in Delhi. The new posting is seen as an acknowledgment of his excellent leadership in combating militancy in Kashmir, especially in the restive south Kashmir.

Under his command, the army also observed NICO (non-initiation of combat operations) against militants in the month of Ramzan in 2018. He also supervised the killing of 17 most wanted commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Muhammad, and Lashkar-e-Toiba, including those from Pakistan.

Sources told THE WEEK that Dhillon’s name has been cleared by the authorities concerned for the posting. He has served in Kashmir before in different capacities. He has commanded 7 Sector RR (Rashtriya Rifles) which is the lead anti-militancy force of the army in Kashmir and northeast.

According to sources, Dhillon’s appointment was made in view of his grasp of Kashmir situation and leadership qualities. His appointment comes ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly polls and the proposed US withdrawal in Afghanistan.

Security agencies in Kashmir fear that the US withdrawal in Afghanistan could impact the situation in Kashmir. There is fear that militant groups could receive greater help from Pakistan and possibly the Taliban if the US pulls out of Afghanistan. Militant groups like Jaish could also rope in some of their contacts in Afghanistan for help in Kashmir. The army, however, is aware of the challenge as it has effectively thwarted repeated attempts by militants to intrude into Kashmir.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh recently told Rajya Sabha that the Centre was ready to hold assembly elections in the state after which the security forces, especially army, have increased vigil on the LoC.

The decision to handover 15 Corps’ command to Dhillon comes two months after the state administrative council, led by Governor Satya Pal Malik, cleared Dilbag Singh as the full-time police chief of J&K.

New Delhi, January 8

Upping the ante over HAL’s reported cash crunch, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid Rs 20,000 crore to France’s Dassault Aviation even though it had not delivered a single Rafale jet, but refused to pay the dues of the Indian aerospace major.

Gandhi’s attack comes a day after he accused the Modi government of weakening public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and destroying India’s strategic capability in order to benefit industrialist Anil Ambani.

“The PM pays 20,000 Cr. to Dassault before a single RAFALE is delivered but refuses to pay HAL 15,700 Cr. it is owed, forcing it to borrow 1,000 Cr to pay salaries,” Gandhi tweeted.

“Meanwhile, the RM (Raksha Mantri) spins lie after lie but cannot answer my questions,” he said.

Gandhi also shared a video of his statement outside Parliament on Monday following Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks in Parliament rejecting “doubts” raised by the Congress on her statement on HAL.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament on Monday, Gandhi had alleged: “The strategy of the government is—weaken HAL, do not give it money, destroy India’s strategic capability and give the ‘gift’ to Anil Ambani. That is the plan and that is what we are trying to thwart.”

The Congress and the BJP-led NDA government have been involved in a war of words after a media report claimed that HAL, grappling with low finances, was forced to borrow Rs 1,000 crore to pay salaries to its employees, for the first time in years.

There was another report that claimed “not a single rupee of the said Rs 1 lakh crore has come to HAL, since not a single order, as claimed, has been signed till now”.

The Congress has been targeting the government, alleging that it denied HAL an offset contract under the Rafale fighter jets deal with France, a charge the government has denied.

Ambani has also rejected all such allegations.

On the other hand, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government has accused the Congress of not supporting HAL during its rule and asserted that the government is now strengthening the defence public sector undertaking. PTI

Privilege notice against Nirmala for ‘misleading’

New Delhi, January 7

The Congress today moved a privilege notice against Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allegedly “misleading” the Lok Sabha during the debate on Rafale deal.

Congress’ KC Venugopal submitted a breach of privilege notice against Sitharaman that Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said was “under my consideration”.

Venugopal accused Sitharaman of misleading the House on two counts. “She told the House that Rs 1 lakh crore worth orders were given to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which is false… During her reply on Rafale deal on Friday, she also misled the House by claiming that the Supreme Court has approved the government’s stand on pricing of jets and purposefully avoided to inform the House that the court in fact has said that it will not go into pricing details of the jets,” said Venugopal. — IANS

New Delhi, January 2

The CBI has booked five Army personnel, including a colonel, for allegedly receiving bribes worth Rs 18 lakh from a supplier of rations for troops posted in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday.

This is the second case in the recent past when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against army officers for corruption in supplies.

In the latest case, the CBI has registered an FIR against Colonel Raman Dahda, Lieutenant Colonel Mahendra Kumar, Subedar Devender Kumar, Havildar Abhay Singh, Subedar Sahuran Sahu and supplier K K Yangfo for criminal conspiracy.

Dahda was the then Commanding Officer of the 556 Army Supply Corps and Mahendra Kumar a platoon commander.

They have been also booked under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

It is alleged that the officers received Rs 18 lakh in cash from civilian contractors in regard to procurement of fresh and dry rations for troops deployed in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The action was taken on the basis of a complaint from the Army.

It is alleged that Dahda misused his official position and received Rs 4.15 lakh from supplier Yangfo through two transactions in the account Dahda’s father.

According to the complaint, Mahender Kumar, who was responsible for quality check, misused his official position and took Rs 1 lakh as bribe.

Subedar Devender Kumar allegedly took a bribe of Rs 2.04 lakh, Havildar Abhay Kumar Rs 98,000 and Subedar Sahuran Saho Rs 7.65 lakh in three transactions from Yangfo.

Yangfo, a civilian contractor in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang, supplied ration for the Army between 2015 and 2017.

The CBI carried out a preliminary inquiry which revealed that undue advantage was paid to an entire chain of officials and unit representatives involved in checking of quality and quantity of items being supplied by Yangfo.

Following the inquiry the agency has registered an FIR against the suspects.

The agency had registered a similar FIR against Lt Col Amit Sharma and Lt Col Sutikshan Rana, officers of the Army Service Corps, who allegedly received bribes worth Rs 82 lakh between 2012 and 2016 from a supplier of ration in Nagaland. – PTI

Our Correspondent

Anantnag, January 1

A Special Police Officer (SPO) was shot by militants in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Tuesday evening here.

After a violent 2018 that claimed more than 413 lives in the Kashmir valley, the SPO has become the first casualty of 2019.

The slain SPO has been identified as Sameer Ahmad Mir, a resident of Hajin-Payeen village in the Rajpora area of Pulwama district.

It is the same village where four Jaish-e-Mohammad militants were killed on Saturday. The police said the attack occurred at 7.30 pm.

“The militants barged into the house of the SPO and fired at him several times,” a police officer said.

Sameer was being taken to a hospital but he succumbed to his injuries on the way.

Following the incident, security forces reached the spot. They have laid a cordon in the area to try and nab the assailants.

Army Chief arrives for two-day Valley visit 

Srinagar: The Chief of Army Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, on Tuesday arrived in the Kashmir valley on a two-day visit. He interacted with the troops and reviewed the prevailing security situation along the LoC and in the hinterland. Accompanied by Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh and Chinar Corps GOC Lt Gen AK Bhatt, the Army Chief visited the frontier district of Kupwara, where he interacted with the troops. TNS

Tribune News Service

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday welcomed the conviction of Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, terming it a case of justice finally delivered to the victims of one of the worst instances of communal violence in independent India.

He reiterated his stand that neither the Congress party nor the Gandhi family had any role to play in the rioting and lashed out at the Badals for continuing to drag their names into the case at the behest of their political masters – the BJP, which was clearly shaken by the clear mandate given by the people to Rahul Gandhi’s leadership in the recent Assembly elections in three states.

The High Court judgment against Sajjan had once again proved that the judiciary in India continued to stand tall as a pillar of the nation’s democratic system, the CM said.

He said he had been naming Sajjan Kumar along with a few other former Congress leaders, including Dharam Das Shastri, HKL Bhagat and Arjun Das, for the past 34 years, based on the information he had personally received from victims in refugee camps in Delhi during the riots.

Incidentally, Sajjan Kumar was the only surviving former Congress leaders implicated in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, as the others had since passed away. His had repeatedly cropped up in his interactions with the victims in the refugee camps, said Capt Amarinder.

There was no Congress conspiracy behind the violence and the names of the Gandhis did not come up even once during his visits to the refugee camps, the CM said, adding that it was vested political interests that had been trying to draw the Gandhi family into the controversy and the conspiracy for their personal motivations.

All involved should be brought to justice: Jakhar

Punjab Congress president Sunil Kumar Jakhar said the party’s stand was clear that whoever was involved in the riots should be brought to justice. “Yes, justice has been delayed, but delivered finally. No one is above law. Anyone who is involved in such a heinous crime should be brought to justice,” the Congress MP told reporters outside Parliament. He stated that Congress leader Kamal Nath’s name had never figured among those involved in the riots. Meanwhile, Partap Singh Bajwa, Rajya Sabha MP, said: “I have always advocated a sense of closure for the victims of this tragedy. This verdict is a reminder for the country that those who inflict mindless violence on the weak, destitute and minorities will not be spared by the long arm of justice. However, I urge one and all not to politicise the moment.” TNS

Timely verdict in the 1984 riots cases could have prevented the mass killings in Mumbai (1993), Gujarat (2002), Odisha’s Kandhamal district (2008) and Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar (2013)— Jarnail Singh, Ex-AAP MLA

People had to wait for 34 years to get justice. The Cong tried for a long time to save its leaders involved in the carnage. But we finally hope to give closure to the people by bringing the guilty to book—Vijay Sampla, Union Minister 

Sajjan got political patronage and went on to become an MP. We demand capital punishment for him. Making Kamal Nath CM of Madhya Pradesh shows that the Cong is still patronising those involved in the riots.—Manjeet Singh GK, SAD leader

Justice has been delayed but not denied.—Omar Obdullah, Ex-J&K CM

Srinagar/Jammu, December 6

An Army jawan and a BSF constable were killed in ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir today.

Rifleman Rajesh Kumar from Uttar Pradesh was killed when a volley of bullets was fired towards a forward post in Machil sector of Kupwara, 150 km northwest of Srinagar.

“Pakistan violated the ceasefire in Machil sector at 10.45 am. One soldier got  martyred in the enemy fire,” said Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia. “Indian forces retaliated strongly,” he added.

This is the third ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the past 24 hours in north Kashmir. Earlier today, Pakistan forces violated the ceasefire in Kamalkote area of Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, resulting in the suspension of cross-LoC trade via the Kaman bridge.

Yesterday, Indian posts in the same area were targeted in which two soldiers were wounded, he said.

In the Sunderbani sector, a BSF Constable was killed and another injured in heavy fire from across the LoC this evening, officials said. The incident happened at a forward post in Mala area. The sector is manned by BSF’s 126th battalion.

While a bullet hit Constable Prosenjit Biswas in the stomach, Constable Mansa Ram suffered a gunshot wound in the thigh, they said. They were airlifted to Command Hospital at Udhampur, where Biswas succumbed to injuries.

The condition of the other jawan is stable, officials said.

The violations come a fortnight after a Brigade Commander-level flag meeting between the two sides. — TNS