NEW DELHI: The CBI registered a cheating case against three senior army officials for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 2.12 crore to a military farm in Maharashtra by making fraudulent payments to a private firm for milk supply.

Those named were Colonel PK Bahuguna, Lieutenant Colonel JK Joseph, and Lieutenant Colonel Ajit Singh Bhadouria. “CBI has registered a case on allegations that the three entered into a conspiracy with a firm based in Pune, Aasha Associates, during January 2009 and December 2012 when they had worked as the officer-in-charge of a Pimri-based military farm,” said a CBI spokesperson. CBI accused the officers of making “fraudulent” payments against the supply of milk by the Zilla Sahakari Doodh Utpadak Dairy, Pune, to the farm.

GURGAON: The Gurgaon police have registered a case of fraud against three retired defence officers, including a retired major general, for allegedly siphoning off ` 14 lakh from the Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM) — a society of defence personnel and their families and is involved in the ‘one rank one pension’ agitation.
The accused and the complainants are members of the IESM, the police said. The complainant Lt Gen Raj Kadyan, a resident of Sector 17A and chairman of the society, alleged that the accused had taken a lot of cash from the society funds between January and July 2013.
The case was registered against a major general , a group captain and a wing commander at the Palam Vihar police station on Monday on the directions of a Gurgaon court. Lt Gen Raj Kadyan (retd), chairman of the IESM, and the major general, who is the vice-chairman of the society, formed the IESM in 2008 and various other ex-servicemen groups also aligned with the organisation.
The society account is being maintained at a private bank in Sector 23A. Apart from the complainant, the accused were the other signatories for operating the account, the police said. According to the police, the funds in the account were contributed by officers and their widows. Inspector Sandeep Kumar, SHO of Palam Vihar, said, “We have registered a case and are conducting an investigation. No arrest has been made so far.”
The major general refuted all allegations. “These allegations are baseless and the account has been audited by an independent authorised accountant. We have worked as per law. Earlier, a lower court had rejected the case,” he said.

Siachen: Operations by the specialized teams of the Army and the Air Force in progress to search for the bodies of the soldiers hit by an avalanche, in Siachen on Monday. (PTI Photo)

An Army jawan, who was buried under 25 feet of snow following an avalanche in the Siachen glacier, was Monday miraculously found alive in a critical condition after six days of rescue efforts.

“It was a miraculous rescue, all efforts are being made to evacuate Lance Naik Hanaman Thappa to the RR hospital in the morning,” Lt Gen D S Hooda, Northern Army Commander, told PTI.

He said, “Five bodies have been recovered so far and four bodies have been identified. All other soldiers are regrettably no more with us.”

He hoped that Thappa, who hails form Karnataka, will beat the odds and recover.

Read Also: 10 soldiers buried in avalanche in Siachen

A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and nine other ranks of Madras Regiment were buried after their post was hit by the avalanche at the altitude of 19,600 feet close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan where the temperature was minus 45 degrees Celsius.

In the ongoing operation, the rescue teams have had to cut through up to 40 feet of ice at multiple locations after probable locations of the accident were identified by using specialised equipment, an Udhampur-based Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel S D Goswami had revealed earlier.

The operation has been hampered by frequent snow blizzards, extreme freezing temperatures and low visibility apart from the effects of rarefied atmosphere at such high altitude.

The Army had earlier hinted that all the soldiers might be dead saying that “chances of finding any survivors are very remote” as temperatures range from a minimum of minus 42 degrees during night to maximum of minus 25 degrees during the day in the glaciated area.

(With inputs from PTI)

BSF men inspect the body of a smuggler shot dead by them. PTI

Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, February 7

Four drug smugglers were shot dead during an encounter with BSF troopers of the 191 Battalion near the Mehndipur border outpost here today.RK Thapa, DIG, BSF, said five Pakistani intruders had come up to the barbed wire fence near border pillar 165/18 at 4.30 am. “Two of them came forward and three stayed back. Their three Indian assistants also arrived to receive the consignment. The BSF jawans challenged the smugglers, who opened fire. The troopers retaliated and gunned down two Pakistani nationals and two Indian smugglers,” the DIG said.He said during a search operation, 10 packets of heroin (10 kg), two 9 mm Chinese pistols, a country-made pistol along with 54 cartridges, Pakistani currency and SIM cards were seized. Some Pakistani cigarette packets were also found. Bodies of the Indian drug peddlers had been handed over to the police to ascertain their identity. Two days ago, the BSF had seized 2 kg of heroin and arrested two Indian smugglers, Rashpal Singh and Jodhbir Singh, from Kamal Singh Wala border outpost. 

4 drug smugglers gunned down by BSF near border at Tarn Taran

“BSF troops of 191 battalion sensed their movement and cornered them. Finding themselves trapped, they opened fire on the troops. The BSF men retaliated, killing the smugglers,” he said.

Paliwal said ten packets of contraband , two Pakistan-made pistols, one local-made pistol ,54 live rounds of ammunition, one plastic pipe, Pakistani currency notes worth ` 270, a knife, a packet of cigarettes made in Pakistan and a SIM card of the neighbouring country were recovered from the spot.

BSF officials said the bodies of the smugglers had been handed over to the police for further investigation. The deceased were not identified till the time of filing this story. RK Thapa, deputy inspector general ( DIG) Punjab frontier, said: “T he enhanced vigil of BSF troops has once again thwarted the attempt by smugglers and anti-national elements to smuggle contra band items into India. In the future also, we will not allow them to succeed in their attempts.”

Mohsin Ibrahim Sayyed (R) being brought at the Delhi Police Special cell on Friday. Tribune photograph

Tribune News Service & PTI

New Delhi, February 5

A 28-year-old man with suspected Islamic State links was nabbed from Kashmere Gate ISBT here, making it the fifth arrest by the Delhi Police in connection with a module of the terror outfit it had claimed to have busted last month.“The accused, Mohsin Ibrahim Sayyed, was arrested on the basis of a tip-off from a central intelligence agency. During interrogation, it has emerged that he was about to leave for Syria,” Special Commissioner of Police Arvind Deep said.Intelligence agencies had found that he was also close to one of the 14 men arrested by the NIA last month in its crackdown against the IS, he said.Sayyed was given Rs 1.5 lakh by a person in Lucknow and he was to deliver it to an associate here, the officer said, alleging that the police have found Rs 85,000 from his possession.According to the police,  Sayyed, who is believed to be self-radicalised, was acting as a financier and had allegedly given Rs 50,000 to the four persons who were arrested by the Delhi Police from Haridwar last month. 

Will teach Pathankot plotter lesson: Parrikar

New Delhi, February 5

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said India would “surely” teach a lesson to the mastermind of the Pathankot air base attack and admitted that the terrorists were probably inside the air base even before intelligence about an impending strike was received.Noting that India “is losing much of its patience”, Parrikar said the country would give tit-for-tat. “Eent ka jawaab patthar se denge (We will reply to bricks with stones),” he said. Parrikar said the “pushers” of the attack were in Pakistan, refusing to disclose further details.“You have to plan. Here I have named individual and organisation, and have not named any country, because if it’s against a country, then it means war. We want to teach a lesson to the individual. Where and when, that will be our choice,” Parrikar said on a TV channel. On counter-attack against terror camps in Pakistan, Parrikar was quoted as saying the time will be chosen by India. — P

Presidential ship INS Sumitra proceeds for fleet review. —PIB

Visakhapatnam, February 6

President Pranab Mukherjee today embarked on Presidential Yacht ‘INS Sumitra’ and reviewed the imposing international parade of fleet at IFR-2016 here where 50 countries across the globe have come together to participate in this show of prowess and preparedness by the Indian Navy.

Mukherjee, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, among others at the International Fleet Review (IFR).

This is the 11th fleet review after independence and the second international one being conducted in India. The President was onboard ‘INS Sumitra’ which sailed through a display of 70 ships at anchorage off Visakhapatnam.

Speaking after reviewing the fleet, Mukherjee said 50 friendly Navies have sailed across oceans and sent Naval ships and/or delegations to participate in the first IFR on the east coast of India at Visakhapatnam.

“Navies world over have conducted fleet reviews to symbolise their loyalty, allegiance to the nation and strengthening bonds between the sailors and the state. IFR 2016 does that much and much more,” the President said.

“IFR 2016, while focusing on the prowess of Indian Navy, has brought together Navies from across the globe here on Indian shores, signifying our common desire to use the seas to promote peace, cooperation and friendship as also develop partnership for a secure maritime future”, he said.

The review had a combination of ships from Indian Navy as well as frontline Navies from across the globe. The ships from Indian Coast Guard and Mercantile Marine also participated.

In this most formal of naval ceremonies, each ship dressed in full regalia saluted the President as he passed.

The President also reviewed the Indian Naval air arm in a display of spectacular fly-past by several fixed wing and rotary aircraft comprising 15 formations.

In the final stage of the review, a mobile column of warships and submarines streamed past the Presidential Yacht.

This display showcased the latest acquisitions of the Indian Navy.

Further, several enthralling waterfront activities, a display of Marine Commandos and helicopter demonstrations were conducted to mesmerise the viewers. —PTI

Dogs of the Special Protection Group undergo training at the ITBP’s National Centre for Training Dogs in Bhanu. tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 31

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) is training sniffer dogs employed by the elite Special Protection Group (SPG) that is responsible for providing security cover to the Prime Minister.The first such batch of SPG dogs is undergoing training at ITBP’s National Training Centre for Dogs (NTCD), co-located with its Basic Training Centre at Bhanu near Chandigarh. The centre was recently expanded and upgraded with new training infrastructure and accommodation.The training regimen is of 24 weeks out of which they have already completed seven weeks. The dogs include Labradors, German Shepherds and Malinois. The number of SPG dogs being trained by the ITBP is being kept a closely guarded secret.Last year, the SPG had approached the ITBP for urgent allotment of seats at the NCTD to train their dogs in anti-sabotage checks in view of pinpointed threats. The SPG will now train all its dogs at the ITBP centre.New training methodologies have been formulated by the ITBP to train its dogs. ITBP K-9 units were the only Indian sniffer dog squads to be selected for dove-tailing with the US dog squads during the visit of President Barrack Obama to India last year. They have also validated their performance in highly sensitive operations such as Op French Toast, conducted during this Republic Day celebrations to protect the visiting French Premier Francois Hollande in addition to Op Lal Quila, Op Doga, Op Ob-Mo, Op Africa and many others that involved sanitising VVIP areas and protecting foreign dignitaries.Besides its own dogs, the ITBP trains dogs of other paramilitary forces, state police forces and some other countries. It has the capacity to accommodate and train 60 dogs and their handlers at a time. The ITBP has also trained dogs to sanitise encounter sites by sniffing out IEDs and booby traps before troops move in.

24-week drill

• The training regimen is of 24 weeks, out of which dogs have already completed seven weeks
• The dogs include Labradors, German Shepherds and Malinois. The number of SPG dogs being trained by the ITBP is being kept a secret