Defence Minister 'extremely upset' over infighting in Army

Defence Minister AK Antony is "extremely upset" over the infighting in the Army in the wake of the controversy surrounding the clandestine tapping of some sensitive phones in the Capital allegedly by the force.Sources close to Antony said on Tuesday that the Defence Minister was "extremely upset" over such developments in the Army as it would impact the image and prestige of the Service.The Army Headquarters had on Monday taken an unusual step and issued a press release to allege that Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh along with "some disgruntled serving officers of the Military Intelligence" were behind planting stories in the media in this regard.The Army had alleged that Singh was behind the media report about mobile monitoring equipment. The retired General was earlier questioned on the purchase of 'off-the-air monitoring system' without sanction by the technically empowered committee.It said Singh has also been an allottee in Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai.Army sources had said the report is a fabricated fiction and that the people responsible are some disgruntled officers, retired and serving, whose sole aim was to create a mistrust between the Army and the Defence Ministry.Singh yesterday refuted the charge that he was planting stories in the media and said he will take legal action against the people accusing him of any wrongdoing.Army Chief Gen V K Singh yesterday reacted sharply to reports that he had deployed interceptors for clandestinely listening to important phone conversations between key people in the Capital involved in the Army age issue before the Supreme Court. Singh had dismissed it as fiction.An anonymous complaint received by the Government listed several allegations against the Army Chief, including possible misuse of off-the-air interveptors to listen in on phone conversations in the national capital

Indian army chief under scanner for phone-tapping

NEW DELHI - Defence Ministry has launched a probe into a complaint which claimed that the army chief had deployed interceptors for clandestinely listening to important phone conversations, an allegation rejected by Gen V K Singh as "fiction".

An anonymous detailed complaint in a letter received by the Defence Ministry early last week lists several allegations against the Army chief, including possible misuse of off-the-air interceptors to listen in on phone conversations in the national capital.
After receiving the letter, the ministry has launched a probe to verify the allegations. The letter was received in an envelope which has an address on it and that is also being verified, sources said.
Reacting sharply to the complaint, Gen Singh dismissed it as "fiction" and hit out at the media. "Fiction does not require any reaction," he told reporters in Hyderabad on the sidelines of a book release function.
The unsigned letter lists several allegations against the army chief including the possible misuse of off-the-air interceptors to listen into phone conversations in Delhi between key people to track developments in the government on his age row case in the Supreme Court.
It also accuses Gen Singh of appointing several officers belonging to the Rajput Regiment to many important posts in the service.
Asked about his letter to the Defence Ministry over shortage of ammunition in the army, Gen Singh said he had apprised the ministry about the status of various inventories.
"The Raksha Rajya Mantri is aware. Our efforts in the last two years have been to ensure that the operational preparedness of the Army improves. In that there are a large number of measures. Periodically, we have been apprising the ministry as to how things are going, what are the shortages and what action needs to be done," he said.
Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju was by Gen Singh's side when the General talked to the media.

War is now inside the army: Army chief VK Singh

New Delhi: The simmerings of discontent within the Indian army is the latest to follow after the alleged truce between the government and the Army chief VK Singh became a furor.The Indian Army has accused a retired general and former head of the Defence Intelligence Agency(DIA) of planting stories in the media in lieu to the alleged snooping of the telephonic conversations of top government officials by the Army.An anonymous complaint was received by the defence secretary Shashikant Sharma about how advanced off-the-air interceptors were being used to record conversations of defence officials.According to the media reports, the interceptors acquired from Ukraine for counter-insurgency operations in J&K and northeast, were being used in the national capital.The Army in their official statement slammed all the allegations made in the anonymous letter.The Army chief VK Singh termed the media reports about the spying allegations as “fiction”.Singh has been in the muddle with the government over his date of birth, affecting his tenure as Army chief. The Supreme Court was approached by Singh, which thereon, disposed his plea, stating that he had to honour his letters of 2008 and 2009 accepting his DOB.The government, following the court’s orders, has challenged several of his decisions including his request for modernisation of the force. The government, recently, announced the appointment of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next Army chief.  

Ex-Army officer tried to influence Gen V K Singh

New Delhi, March 6, 2012, DHNS:

Retired Lieutenant General takes strong exception to ‘salacious’ story

A retired Army Lieutenant General who is being suspected of fabricating the story on the bugging of Defence Minister A K Antony’s South Block office had earlier tried to influence Army chief General V K Singh to secure the import order of 100 Tatra trucks that are to be used to military purposes.The officer, Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, met Gen Singh in his Army headquarter office last year and sought to influence the Army chief. A furious Gen Singh is understood to have asked the former to leave his office.In the so-called bugging case, the monitoring equipment, two sets of off-the-air interceptors, were imported by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) from Ukraine. While one was installed in a Tata Safari, the other was fixed in a Maruti Esteem car with a Delhi registration. One was stationed in a bungalow on Kushak Road and the other was parked in another bungalow on Krishna Menon Marg. The interceptors are capable of picking up conversation within a radius of 3- km.The powerful interceptors are in possession of Signals Intelligence and are deployed along the borders and in counter insurgency areas. They are under the control of Director General Defence Intelligence Agency (DG, DIA) and not under the military intelligence.Lt Gen (retd) Singh, who allegedly fabricated the story and leaked to the media, had been questioned by the technical control group of National Technical Research Organisation on the purchase of  “of the air monitoring system”, without proper sanction by the technically empowered committee, sources told Deccan Herald.He has also been an allottee in Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai and had offered bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vetra Limited, which supplies vehicles to BEML, said Army sources.The officer along with some disgruntled serving officers of the military intelligence, against whom disciplinary and administrative actions is in the pipeline has worked out this fictitious story, they said, strongly denying the report and taking strong exception to such “salacious and malafide stories, coming out as news”.On Friday, Defence Ministry denied media reports that Antony's office was bugged. “Reports of ‘bugging’ in South Block in a section of the media is denied. Routine checks are conducted in the offices of the Defence Minister and other officers in South Block. Nothing has been found in these checks,” said defence ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar.Last year, the UPA-II government faced a major controversy when official letters revealed presence of bugs in the North Block office of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who did not trust IB – under Union Home Minister P Chidambaram – and turned to Central Board of Direct Taxes for the subsequent sweeps and checks.

Ex-General Singh denies controversial 'mole' allegation

Retired Lieutenant-General Tejinder Singh, the man branded by the army as the kingpin of the recent snooping grapevine, has dismissed the sensational allegation against him, saying it was laughable. 

The army, in a surprise reaction that made its internal strife public, had accused the former head of the Director General of Defence Intelligence Agency (DGDIA) of 'spreading stories' that General V.K. Singh was spying on defence minister A.K. Antony and other senior officials. 

The reaction was in response to the news of an anonymous letter sent to defence secretary Shashikant Sharma detailing the surveillance operation allegedly carried out by the Military Intelligence (MI). 

Snooping? Former Lt General Tejinder Singh, left, is accused of snooping, while VK Singh, right, has also been accused

The retired army man said he was seeking legal consultation on further action but claimed he did want to join issues because it would tarnish the image of the army. 

The DGDIA came into being after the Kargil war to plug intelligence gaps. The director general of the agency reports directly to the defence minister and chairman chiefs of staff committee, a tri-service body. 

ARMY SNIFFS A  DEFAMATORY PLOT

The army alleged that Tejinder Singh is behind recent reports on the tapping controversy spreading stories that General V.K. Singh was spying on defence minister A.K. Antony and other senior officials.

The reaction came in response to the news of an anonymous letter sent to the defence secretary Shashikant Sharma 

At the centre of the scandal lie allegations that vehicles carrying off-the-air equipment were placed at various locations near South Block, which houses defence ministry, and residences of top functionaries, for prying.

The army chief designate, Bikram Singh will have to be kept in the loop by V.K. Singh on any major decisions taken. Army sniffs a conspiracy in the allegations aimed to create a rift between them and the government.

The army has no control over its functioning. The defence ministry has also taken note of the spat in the army, which has come out after army chief General V.K. Singh lost the court battle on his date of birth dispute. The defence ministry officials hope that the generals will behave in a 'mature manner'. 

While this drama was playing on, army chief designate Bikram Singh called on the defence minister in New Delhi on Tuesday. 

This was the eastern army commander's first visit to the Capital after being named the next army chief. He also had tea with defence secretary Sharma. 

He would take over on May 31 at a time when the atmosphere in the force brass has been vitiated by serious allegations flowing thick and fast.

The government had announced Bikram Singh's name as the next chief three months in advance to prevent the army's internal health from deteriorating further. 

Because he is the army chief designate, the Bikram Singh will have to be kept in loop by V.K. Singh on any major decisions taken. An official said that after the appointment of a new chief, the incumbent has a lame duck presence. 

At the centre of the snooping scandal lie allegations that vehicles carrying off-the-air equipment were placed at various locations near South Block, which houses defence ministry, and residences of top functionaries, for prying. 

Antony's office had also come under a bug scare last month but it was found to be false. The army sniffs a conspiracy in these allegations and says that these are aimed at creating a rift between the army headquarters and the defence ministry.

Apart from Tejinder Singh, it holds some disgruntled serving officers responsible for it. A number of serving officers are under the army scanner. A MI colonel, heading a unit in the north-east, is facing a court of inquiry.

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VISIT TO URI SECTOR BY COL PREMKUMAR

I Had the opportunity to visit Uri sector recently with the help of an officer serving in that sector. It was a thrilling experience to drive along the LOC and reach Kaman Amman Sethu built on the LOC.

I paid my respects at the war memorial and placed a wreath. At the war memorial constructed by 10 Engr Regiment, the bust of late Col Vasanth is also installed. In the Bde Ops/sand model room I read the complete history of how this valiant CO led his team and succumbed to the terrorist bullets.

Just sharing my experience with you.

Regards,

Lt Col Premkumar.

In school, this Gen was man of many facets

Gagan K Teja/TNS

Lt General Bikram Singh receiving the Roll of Honour for the year 2009 from President Pratibha Devisingh Patil during the Golden Jubilee function of PPS, Nabha, in 2010

Nabha, March 5

Had Lt Gen Bikram Singh, who will take over the reins of the 1.3 million-strong Army on May 31, not been in the forces, he would have been a poignant painter or a soulful singer.
Bikram Singh had a passion for painting during his school days. At his alma mater, Punjab Public School, Nabha, Singh’s paintings fetched him the best artist award for two years in a row.
What’s more, the talented lad was good at crooning too and loved to hum numbers picturised on yesteryear actor Rajendra Kumar.
“From a relatively quiet child to a confident boy, who not only excelled in academics and sports but was equally good in various art forms, he (Bikram Singh) grew by leaps and bounds,” recalled his first housemaster KC Tandon.
“Bikram was in the Beas House. I still remember him as a young boy who was well-behaved and disciplined. He was very resourceful and dependable. Whatever job was assigned to him, he did it to the best of his ability,”.Tandon said.
“I vividly remember his paintings were widely appreciated. He was fond of singing too. Songs filmed on Rajinder Kumar were his favourite,” said Tandon.
“He was an excellent pupil, always ready to shoulder any responsibility. He had a naughty side too and often used to play little pranks. His elevation to the top position of the Army is a matter of great pride for the entire school,” said KPK Tandon, Bikram’s English teacher.
A quick glance through his personal record revealed an interesting detail about the General. After joining the school, Bikram Singh added to his qualities with the each passing year. So in the first year, he was quite child, which turned into confident, cheerful, friendly, dedicated, helpful, and finally an all-rounder. There is not even a single report by his teachers that doesn’t mention his painting skills.
Talking to The Tribune, the headmaster of school, Jagpreet Singh, said: “We are proud of his achievements. The teachers and students have been celebrating since Saturday when the announcement of his elevation was made.”

“Bikram’s father’s letter, which is in our record books, clearly explains that why this school is held in high regards. In his letter, he had thanked the then principal JK Kate for moulding his child into a complete man, who was ready to touch new heights,” said the principal. 

Bribery scandal:  Defence ministry blacklists six companies

NEW DELHI: Defence ministry has blacklisted six companies including Singapore Technologies, Israeli Military Industry and Germany's Rheinmetall Air Defence for 10 years for their alleged role in ordnance factory scam. The firms, including two Indian and one Russian, were blacklisted following action against former Director General of Ordnance Factories (DGOF) Sudipta Ghosh who was chargesheeted by CBI for his alleged role in defence scams. "Consequent to the filing of the charge sheet in the case related to illegal gratification against Sudipta Ghosh, former DGOF, the firms were recommended for blacklisting by CBI on basis of evidence collected against them," defence ministry officials said on Monday. Two Indian firms -- Delhi-based T S Kisan and Company and R K Machine Tool based in Ludhiana, have also been blacklisted. Russian firm Corporation Defence also figures in the list of the companies against whom action has been taken. 

The firms have been debarred from further business dealings with Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Department of Defence Production under the Defence Ministry for a period of 10 year, they said. 

"These firms were issued notice to show cause as to why action against them should not be taken, consequent to filing of the charge sheet in the case related to illegal gratification against former DGOF Sudipto Ghosh," the officials said. In June 2010, the CBI had filed the charge sheet in a special court at Kolkata against Ghosh and 11 others people for graft. It was alleged that Ghosh had entered into conspiracy with other accused with the object of demanding and obtaining illegal gratification for various supply orders placed by OFB and also in the matters relating to transfer or posting of the officers of Ordnance Factories.

Army Chief rubbishes telephone-tapping reports

New Delhi, Mar 5 (ANI): Chief of Army Staff, General V. K. Singh, on Monday rubbished reports that he had deployed interceptors for secretly listening to important phone conversations as 'fiction' and took a dig at the media over the report."Fiction doesn't require any reaction. If people concoct stories and some of the irresponsible editors allow those stories to get published, I do not think it requires any reaction," he said.

An anonymous complaint received by the government in recent days lists several allegations against General Singh, which includes possible misuse of off-the-air interceptors to listen in on phone conversations. According to the complaint, the deployment was part of an effort to listen in conversations between key people, who may have decided the government strategy on the army chief's age row. Meanwhile, commenting on border difference with China, Minister of State for Defence Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju said both New Delhi and Beijing are committed to resolve the border issue amicably. "We all know that there are differences of the perceptions of the border and on which India and China are having an extended dialogue, they are at the level of the National Security Advisors. We have had 15 rounds of discussions. We are working on it," said Dr. Raju. "I think the Prime Minister has said earlier that relationship between India and China has more important things to talk about, like you have a growing trade, we have similar challenges and we are both playing very important roles on the world stage," he added.The Minister of State for Defence further said the Indian Army is investing billions into strengthening its manufacturing and acquiring improved military technology by increasing participation from the private sector. "We are living in a very challenging neighbourhood, so there is a need for augmenting our defence preparedness, so we have been spending adequately. The 12th five year plan, the envisage spending is to the tune of $ 100-120 billion and we are improvising the acquisition of capabilities and you know not only are we strengthening the manufacturing facilities we have within the public sector, we are also increasing greater participation by the private sector," he said. (ANI)

 Telephone tapping complaint: Army chief terms it as 'fiction

Hyderabad: Army chief General VK Singh on Monday denied reports of him tracking phone conversations of ministers. He also stuck to his stand that ammunition in the Army was seeing an alarming shortage.He termed as 'fiction' media reports of a complaint about telephone tapping to hear conversation in connection with his age row."Fiction does not require any reaction. If people concoct stories and some of the irresponsible editors allow those stories to get published, I don't think it requires any reaction," he told reporters here on the sidelines of a bookrelease function.Asked about his letter to the Defence Ministry over shortage of ammunition in the Army, he said he had apprised the ministry about the status of various inventories."The Raksha Rajya Mantri is aware. Our efforts in the last two years have been to ensure that the operational preparedness of the Army improves. In that there are a large number of measures. Periodically, we have been apprising the ministry as to how things are going, what are the shortages and what action needs to be done," he said.Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju was next to him as he talked to the media.

Army: Retd Lt-Gen planted phone-tapping story

New Delhi, March 5
The controversy surrounding the purported tapping of some sensitive phones in the Capital by the Army took a murky turn tonight with the Army blaming a retired Lieutenant-General and some disgruntled serving officers of the Military Intelligence of planting a story in the media even as the Defence Ministry has ordered a probe into the matter.

Army sources took the unusual step of telling the media that Lt-Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, who was former chief of the Defence Intelligence Agency, along with “some disgruntled serving officers of the Military Intelligence, against whom disciplinary and administrative actions are in the pipeline, has worked out this fictitious story”.

Tejinder Singh refuted the charge and said he would take action against the people accusing him of any wrongdoing. —

Second Mirage crash in 11 days 
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 5

A Mirage 2000 fighter plane of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near a village in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district today. This is the second crash in 11 days for the plane built by France firm Dassualt aviation. The earlier one was on February 24 near Bhind in Madhya Pradesh.
The Mirage fleet, based in Gwalior, would undergo a thorough test before being put to flying again, sources said. The crash was being viewed seriously as these aircraft started getting inducted into the IAF in the mid-80s and had had a very good flight safety record, the officials said. It played a major role in air-ground attacks during the Kargil conflict in May-July 1999.
Today's crash occurred soon after taking off from Gwalior. The pilot managed to eject safely, IAF officials said.
Today's crash site is around 100 km south-west of Jaipur, near Baman Baas village. The plane crashed around 12.45 pm, officials said.
A court of inquiry (CoI) has been ordered to ascertain the reason for the crash.
The IAF has also recently signed two deals worth over $3.2 billion for upgrading the capabilities of the Mirage 2000 with Dassault, Thales and MBDA. The first two planes are already in France while the remaining will be upgraded by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

 India, US military exercises begin in Rajasthan

New Delhi, March 5
India and US kick-started their two week-long joint military exercise in the Rajasthan desert today with their troops set to engage each other in a series of anti-terrorist and urban warfare drills.

"The US Army is being represented by troops from 25 Infantry Division while the Indian side has pitched in troops from Jammu and Kashmir Rifles and Mechanised Infantry," an official said.

The 170-strong member US team is being led by Colonel Thomas J Roth, Commander of 2nd Engineer Brigade and the Indian side is being commanded by Brigadier B S Dhanoa.

Both sides will jointly plan and execute a series of well developed tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peace operations, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said.

The war games which will be conducted over the next two weeks will see troops from both the sides hone their tactical and technical skills. 

PRINT MEDIA DEFENCE RELATED NEWS 05 MARCH 2012

China’s defence hike raises alarm11.2% rise in budget sees it balloon to $106 bn

Beijing, March 4
China today announced it would hike its defence budget by 11.2 per cent to a whopping $106.4 billion, pushing its military spending for the first time to the triple digit, a move that may fuel concerns among neighbours and others about its growing might in Asia Pacific.

The increase announced by parliament spokesman Li Zhaoxing will bring official outlays on the People's Liberation Army to 670.3 billion yuan ($110 billion) for 2012, after a 12.7 per cent increase last year and a near-unbroken string of double-digit rises across two decades.

Li said the world has nothing to fear, and the money spent on the PLA paled in comparison with the Pentagon’s outlays.

"You can see that we have 1.3 billion people with a large land areas and a long coastline, but our outlays on defence are quite low compared to other major countries," Li told a news conference before the annual full session of the National People's Congress, the Communist Party-controlled legislature that will approve the budget.

Asian neighbours, however, have been nervous about Beijing's expanding military, and this latest double-digit rise could reinforce disquiet in Japan, India, Southeast Asia and self-ruled Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory.

"Eleven per cent, for a Chinese defence budget, is what I would characterise as a reasonably sizeable increase," said C. Uday Bhaskar, a former director of India's Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi. "It also, I would say, goes beyond the normal pegging we do for inflation, and it would be noted with great interest and concern by China's principal interlocutors," he said.

According to the officials figures, China had spent about $ 92 billion on defence last year, which represented a 12.7 per cent increase over the 2010 budget of $ 77 billion. This year's increase would represent a hike of $ 14.4 billion.

Besides, the specified military spending, which many western analysts say is far higher than the official version, China last year spent over $100 billion on internal security. Analysts say the hike in China's defence budget, which is now almost triple of the Indian defence spending, may impact New Delhi's military expenditure.

India had allocated $ 36.04 billion for defence last year, which represented an 11.59 per cent growth over the 2010 budget.

Obama has sought to reassure Asian allies that the United States will stay a key player in the area, and the Pentagon has said it will "rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region".

Obama's proposed budget for the fiscal year of 2013 calls for a Pentagon base budget of $525.4 billion, about $5.1 billion less than approved for 2012.

Beijing has sought to balance long-standing wariness about US intentions with steady relations with Washington, especially as both governments focus on domestic politics this year, when Obama faces a re-election fight and China's ruling Communist Party undergoes a leadership handover.

But the US "pivot" has fanned unease in China, with some PLA officers calling it an effort to fence in their country and frustrate Beijing's territorial claims.China has advertised its long-term military ambitions with shows of new hardware, including its first test flight of a stealth fighter jet in early 2011 and its launch of a fledgling aircraft carrier in August — both trials of technologies that remain years from deployment.

Beijing is also building new submarines, surface ships and anti-ship ballistic missiles as part of its naval modernisation.China's military build-up is likely to continue "unabated", irrespective of recent US moves in Asia, the U.S. military commander for the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Robert Willard, said on Tuesday.Japan and China have locked horns over islands each claims in the East China Sea; Vietnam, the Philippines and other nations have challenged Beijing over claims to swathes of the South China Sea that could be rich in oil and gas.A spokesman for Philippines' Department of National Defence, Peter Paul Galvez, said the latest increase in PLA spending was not cause for alarm. Others were more anxious.

"China shares its land border with 14 countries; it used to make sense that a country in such a position maintains strong conventional forces," said Kazuya Sakamoto, a professor at Osaka University in Japan who researches international security. “But in this nuclear age, it does not really make sense that China, a nuclear-armed country, continues to build up its military at such a pace,” said Sakamoto. — Agencies

Army operationalises second supersonic BrahMos regiment

BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was test-fired on SundayJaisalmer, March 4
The Army today successfully test fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at the Pokharan range here to operationalise the second regiment of the weapon system in service.

"In conformity and pursuit of operational and strategic surface-to-surface missile capability development, the second BrahMos unit of Indian Army has been operationalised. The Indian Army unit successfully launched BrahMos missile and destroyed the preselected target in the field firing ranges in Rajasthan," an Army spokesperson said here.
The test was witnessed by senior Army officials, including Vice Chief Lt Gen Shri Krishna Singh and Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen AK Chaudhary.

The Army has so far placed orders for three regiments of the supersonic cruise missile and with today’s test firing, two of them have been inducted operationally.

The Defence Ministry has also given a go-ahead to the Army to induct a third regiment for being deployed in Arunachal Pradesh along the China border.

One regiment of the 290-km range BrahMos consists around 65 missiles, five mobile autonomous launchers on Tatra vehicles and two mobile command posts, among other equipment. —PTI

Army to hold mock drill on March 7 To be held for first time in urban areaTribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 4
To evaluate its preparedness to counter any nuclear, biological and chemical warfare possibility in urban areas of Punjab, the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare (NBC) Cell of the Indian Army will hold a mock drill at the Ansal Plaza at Paragpur on the Phagwara-Jalandhar stretch of the National Highway on March 7.

Sources said that it was perhaps for the first time that the Army would hold such a mock drill in a busy urban area of the state. Usually such exercises are organised within the cantonments or in open fields away from inhabited areas.

Since Ansal Plaza at is located in Kapurthala, the drill will be organised by the Vajra Corps in collaboration with the district police and the civil administration.

A contingent of about 50 experts from the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare Cell of the Vajra Corps would display their skills to effectively thwart any possible NBC attack on an urban or semi-urban area particularly, in a busy place like a mall, a stretch of a highway, bus stand or a railway station.

"The contingent will consist of officers, JCOs and jawans and they will be showcasing their prowess to deal with nuclear, biological or chemical attack in full dress. What will differentiate this drill from previous mock exercises is that it is going to take place in a fully inhabited area, "said Defence PRO Naresh Vig.

In Army, suicides bigger killer than enemy bullets

New Delhi, March 4
Suicides proved to be the Army's biggest adversary than enemy's bullets with around 100 troops losing their lives in acts of self-annihilation against 65 in counter-insurgency and security operations last year.

"Suicides claimed 99 lives in Army last year. Of these, 23 cases were registered in field areas and 76 in peace areas," said Army officials.

Though the number of lives lost due to suicides was a cause for concern, the number of such cases had come down in the past few years, they said. In 2010 and 2009, the number of deaths due to suicides was 115 and 110, respectively.

The figure stood at 142 in 2007 and 150 in 2008. In a few cases, the families of soldiers had alleged murder after which court of inquiries were conducted, the officials said.

In 2011, the number of lives lost in security operations was 65, they said.

"In 2011, 11 officers, 8 JCOs and 46 men achieved martyrdom in operations to uphold the security of our nation," Army Chief Gen VK Singh said recently.

Army help sought to rescue foresters Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS

Guwahati, March 4
Thickly-forested Sinhasan Pahar (hills) near Diphu in Assam’s Karbi Anglong Hill district is a bastion of tribal insurgents belonging to the Karbi and Kuki tribes.

The area is a biodiversity hot spot known for producing quality ginger. Notwithstanding looming insecurity, Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) of Karbi Anglong East forest division Abhijit Rabha, a dedicated and efficient official of the department, has gone to Sinhasan hills on several occasions in the past to carry out survey of forest resources of the area hardly visited by any senior forest officials because of presence of insurgents.

He was not spared on his last visit on Saturday by insurgents who abducted Rabha and an accompanying forest range officer Ranjan Baruah while they were returning from Sinhasan hills after carrying out survey that started on February 27. Rabha, a 1984 batch Indian Forest Service officer, had led a 60-member survey team that included two Japanese scientists. Thirty members of the team, including the two Japanese scientists, returned to Diphu on February 29.

DB Shetty, SP, Karbi Anglong, said the two forest officers were kidnapped from near Borlag under Manja police station. Police suspects involvement of a newly-formed militant outfit called Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT) in the abduction. Another militant group called Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) is also active in Sinhasan hills.

“They were returning from Sinhasan hills when their vehicle was stopped by militants. The other forest personnel in the vehicle were allowed to go while Rabha and Baruah were detained by the ultras,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Suresh Chand said.

Militants later called up forest officials demanding a ransom of Rs 1 crore for release of the two officers. Meanwhile, the police has sought assistance from the Army to rescue the two forest officials.

Police claimed CCF Rabha and his team had gone to insurgent-infested Sinhasan hills without proper police security though he could have availed of security cover on request.

Sources said Rabha, who had gone to the area on several occasions in the past, had set up a good rapport with local tribal village heads and, hence, chose to bank on the goodwill of people rather than seeking heavy police escort.

Army trains residents to face natural calamities

Gulmarg, March 2
Army officials trained rescue operation teams in the world-famous skiing resort of Gulmarg to prevent causalities during natural calamities like avalanches. “We have been deployed and trained to help people as well as tourists at the time of occurrence of a natural calamity. We are being trained in the process of rescuing tourists, if they get trapped in snow-covered hills at the time of any natural calamity,” said Athar Nazir, a member of the rescue team. SM Sahai, IGP, Kashmir, said the police teams were also assisting the Army in the rescue operations. “Our police team, deployed in Gulmarg, is also helping the Army, which they have done in the past few days. We are also making the use of helicopters by Heli-skiing to rescue any trapped person,” Sahai said.

On February 23, an Army post of Sonmarg was severely hit, along with Gurez, where 14 soldiers were killed in the snow-propelled avalanche. Heavy snowfall in the region this year has left locals to bear the brunt of the continuing cold snap as closure of the highway had impeded travel and food supplies. This year’s brutal cold wave and incessant snowfall has severely disrupted power and water supplie

BrahMos cruise missile successfully test fired

The Army on Sunday successfully test fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at the Pokharan range here to operationalise the second regiment of the weapon system in service.“In conformity and pursuit of operational and strategic surface to surface missile capability development, the second BrahMos unit of Indian Army has been operationalised. The Indian Army unit successfully launched BrahMos missile and destroyed the preselected target in the field firing ranges in Rajasthan,” an Army spokesperson said here.The test was witnessed by senior Army officials including Vice Chief Lt. Gen. Shri Krishna Singh and Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. A.K. Chaudhary.The Army has so far placed orders for three regiments of the supersonic cruise missile and with Sunday’s test firing; two of them have been inducted operationally.The Defence Ministry has also given a go ahead to the Army to induct a third regiment for being deployed in Arunachal Pradesh along the China border.One regiment of the 290-km range BrahMos consists around 65 missiles, five mobile autonomous launchers on Tatra vehicles and two mobile command posts, among other equipment.BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian Joint venture company headed by A. Sivathanu Pillai, is also working to develop the submarine launched, air launched and a hyper-sonic version of the missile in the near future.It has already been inducted into the Navy and is deployed on almost all the front line surface warships of the maritime force.

Second BrahMos regiment operational along borderNEW DELHI: Providing it a swift strike capability along the border with Pakistan, the Army on Sunday inducted its second BrahMos supersonic cruise missile regiment in the western sector. It also successfully conducted a test of the 290-km range missile to validate the unit's operationalization. "In conformity and pursuit of operational and strategic surface to surface missile capability development, the second BrahMos unit of Army has been operationalized somewhere in western sector," an army spokesperson said in a release in New Delhi. "The Indian Army unit successfully launched BrahMos missile and destroyed the preselected target in the field firing ranges in Rajasthan on Sunday," he added. BrahMos has the capability of attacking surface targets by flying as low as 10 metres above the ground. It can reach a speed of Mach 2.8 or close to three times the speed of sound. The BrahMos has been developed as a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia under BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Moskva.

PRINT MEDIA DEFENCE RELATED NEWS 04MARCH 2012

Lt-Gen Bikram Singh next Army Chief To take over on May 31, when COAS General VK Singh retires

Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

Defence Minister AK Antony with Army Chief General VK Singh and Lieutenant-General Bikram Singh (R). — PTI

New Delhi, March 3
General Bikram Singh, has been appointed as the next Chief of the Indian Army. Ending months of speculation, the Ministry of Defence today made a formal announcement saying he will be the next Chief of Army Staff and will take over on May 31.
The ministry made a formal announcement this evening. Lt Gen Bikram Singh will be second-ever Sikh, after General JJ Singh (retd), to command the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army.
The ministry’s spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said in a statement: “Lt Gen Bikram Singh, has been designated as the next Chief of Army Staff, in the rank of General, with effect from the afternoon of May 31, 2012. He will succeed the present, General VK Singh, who retires from the service on May 31 2012”.
The present Army Chief, General VK Singh superannuates on May 31. The process to announce the Army Chief is normally done in advance. In this case the Government has strictly followed the principle of seniority.
At present, Lt Gen Bikram Singh is heading the Eastern Army Command and is stationed at Kolkata. The security of the sensitive North-East and the Eastern states is under his domain of duties.
The Army-chief-designate was the Delhi-based spokesperson of the Indian Army during the Kargil conflict in May-July 1999. At that time he was a Colonel and was on the verge of being promoted as a Brigadier.
The retirement date of the present Army Chief had led to all sorts of theories in the past few months. It was only on February 10 this year that the Supreme Court refused to reconcile the date of birth (DoB) of General VK Singh. It said the DoB would remain as May 10 1950 and not May 10, 1951 as claimed by Gen VK Singh.
Had the apex court accepted the DoB of May 10, 1951, then General VK Singh would have retired after completion of a three-year tenure that is March 31, 2013. In that scenario Lt Gen KT Parnaik, the present Northern Army commander, would have been the next Chief as Lt Gen Bikram Singh would have retired in the intervening period.
An Army Chief retires at 62 years of age while all Lieutenant Generals retire at 60 years of age.
Had General VK Singh quit after the February 10 SC order, Lt Gen Shankar Ghosh would have been the senior-most officer. Unfortunately for Gen Shankar Ghosh, he retires the same day as Gen VK Singh.
Lt Gen Bikram Singh, the Army-chief-designate, was commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry (Sikh LI) regiment on March 31, 1972.
During his distinguished career, he has headed the Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Lt Gen Bikram Singh has served as deputy force commander of a multi-nation UN peace keeping mission in Congo. He had also served as UN observer in Nicaragua and El Salvador during the early 1990s.
His long list of decorations include a Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM), a Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM), an Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM), Sena Medal (SM) and a Vishist Seva Medal (VSM).
Lt Gen Bikram Singh has studied with distinction at the Defence Services Staff College, the Army War College and the US Army War College, Pennsylvania. He has also done an M.Phil in Defence Management from the Indore University.
He is married to Surjeet Kaur, who is a housewife. The couple has two sons.

Decorated soldier His long list of decorations include a Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM), a Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM), an Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM), Sena Medal (SM) and a Vishist Seva Medal (VSM) Current posting Lt Gen Bikram Singh is heading the Eastern Army Command and is stationed at Kolkata. The security of the sensitive North-East and the Eastern states is under his domain of duties. Distinguished CareerLt Gen Bikram Singh, the Army-chief-designate, was commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry (Sikh LI) regiment on March 31, 1972. During his distinguished career, he has headed the Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Lt Gen Bikram Singh has served as deputy force commander of a multi-nation UN peace keeping mission in Congo. He had also served as UN observer in Nicaragua and El Salvador during the early 1990s.

Kin thrilled over Lt Gen Bikram Singh’s elevation 
Prabhjot Singh/TNS

Chandigarh, March 3
The announcement of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next Army Chief has brought cheer not only to his alma mater, Punjab Public School, Nabha, but also to his relatives and friends in Chandigarh.

Lt General Bikram Singh will be the first alumnus of the Punjab Public School to head the Indian Army. Singh has a strong affiliation with Chandigarh.

His sister, Nimmi Sandhu, and her husband Kuldip Sandhu, bring out a news weekly and a monthly magazine from the city.

“We are thrilled at his elevation. Though it was expected, a formal announcement has its own importance,” beamed Kuldip Sandhu.

Bikram Singh would be the second Sikh General after JJ Singh to head the Indian Army.

General JJ Singh (retd) came from a family of writers. His parents - Prabhjot Kaur and Narinderpal Singh - had created a niche for themselves in Punjabi literature.While both Punjab Public School, Nabha, and Sainik School, Kapurthala, boast of having produced several officers who have risen and occupied key positions in the forces, Lt General Bikram Singh seem to have left them all behind by rising to the top position in the Indian Army.

Bikram Singh’s family originally belongs to Kler village, near Rayya in Amritsar. But now it is settled in Jammu & Kashmir. He is the youngest of the five siblings and the only son of his parents.

Hurdles that Lt-Gen Bikram Singh cleared Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 3
Lt-Gen Bikram Singh, in the past two years, faced at least three events that could have held him back. He cleared them all exposing the manner in which senior officers running for top posts are hounded by persons inimical to them.

The most dangerous rumour spread about him was that his daughter-in-law was a Pakistani citizen. Several MPs, probably backed by his rivals, sent out complaints about the woman’s citizenship.

She is married to the elder son of Lt-Gen Bikram Singh and the young couple lives in the US. “Potential security implications” were cited to hold back his appointment as Chief of Army Staff.

The matter was sorted out only after Indian external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), was asked for a report.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet was informed, on the basis of a R&AW report, that General Bikram Singh’s daughter-in-law is an American citizen. Her father is an Afghan and mother is from Central Asia.

Before this, two other attempts were made to shoot down his candidature. In January this year, Lt Gen Bikram Singh was accused of staging a fake encounter when he was posted as Brigadier in the Rashtriya Rifles in South Kashmir’s Anantnag town in March 2001. The case mysteriously cropped up. An NGO, Yes Kashmir, filed a petition with the police and a woman, Zaituna, approached the J&K High Court in 2011 — 10 years after the incident in which one foreign militant Mateen Chacha was killed.

Lt-Gen (then Brigadier) Bikram Singh was injured while Colonel JP Jam, had died in the shoot-out that occurred in the Janglat Mandi area of Anantnag.

General Bikram Singh got a clean chit when the SSP Anantnag, also impleaded as a party in the case, told the court that the matter needed no further investigation as the case stood already established against the deceased foreign militant.

Denying that the encounter was fake as claimed by the petitioner’s family, the J&K police said the particulars of the militant had been confirmed on the basis of material evidence that included an identity card found on his person.

The third hurdle was equally serious. An Army Court of Inquiry (CoI) was conducted last year. It looked at documents and cross-examined 51 soldiers to verify if they were guilty of sexual misconduct during their year-long posting on a UN peacekeeping mission to Congo in 2008.

These men faced charges of rape and also fraternising with the local population, all forbidden by Indian military law and the UN code of conduct. Lt Gen Bikram Singh had headed the Congo mission for a part of the period.

The CoI ruled out rape. The relationships (with Congolese women) were found to have been paid for or were consensual.

NGO to start training for youngsters seeking career in armed forces Puneet Pal Singh Gill
Tribune News Service

The memorial to Baba Bhan Singh at Sunet village. Photo: Inderjeet Verma

Ludhiana, March 3

After empowering women of Sunet village, an NGO, Maha Sabha, Ludhiana, would start a free training programme for youngsters, who want to join the armed forces. The programme would be started at “Gadri” Baba Bhan Singh Memorial, located at Sunet village.

Residents of the Sunet Colony have constructed a memorial depicting Cellular Jail, commonly known as Kala Pani, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where two statues of Baba Bhan Singh are located. The memorial is looked after by an NGO, Maha Sabha Ludhiana.
The NGO is successfully running a stitching centre for women and a library inside two rooms of the memorial that has been attributed to the life of Baba Bhan Singh, a Gadar martyr, who had died in the jail after being tortured brutally by Britishers for raising the voice for freedom.
“Women folk of the area are trained free so that they can empower themselves financially. But after our NGO received a grant of Rs 10 lakh from the state government, we decided to construct two more rooms. The construction of the rooms is almost complete and now we would focus more on the youth, which is falling prey to drugs,” said Col Jagdish Singh Brar (retd), president of Maha Sabha, Ludhiana.
Col Brar said that he felt bad when he came to know that a large number of Punjabi youth could not enter the armed forced. “Punjab contributed the most in armed forces, but these days our youth is getting directionless. That is why, I along with other ex-servicemen decided to start a free training programme for the poor. We would not only prepare them for the written test, but also for the physical test,” he added.
Jaswant Zeerakh, general secretary of the NGO, said that the memorial was constructed so that the new generation could be made aware of the supreme sacrifice of Baba Bhan Singh. “But the civic body has failed to keep its surroundings clean. Even there are several encroachments, which have not been cleared by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation despite several reminders and written submissions,” he claimed.
Tomorrow, the NGO would organise a free medical check-up and eye camp at the memorial, near the CFC School, Sunet village.

Understand family needs of women constables: BSFKusum Arora
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 3
Aimed at improving the work environment between women constables and their men counterparts, the Border Security Force (BSF), Punjab Frontier, held a 'sensitization drive' at its headquarters in Jalandhar recently.
The closed-door meeting was held on March 1, keeping in mind certain family issues of women constables, which have started cropping up with the passage of time. The meeting, which went on for around three hours, was chaired by BSF DIG JP Uniyal.
A total of 20 women constables from different battalions and a host of company commanders, platoon commanders and commandants attended the meeting, which was focused on the need to bring a change in the age-old perceptions of 'rigid attitude' of the BSF.

The BSF authorities sensitised both women and the male counterparts on the need to introduce slight behavioural changes pertaining to the unavoidable maternity requirements of women constables.Talking to The Tribune, DIG Uniyal said: "We reached a consensus that as and when a requirement arises, the male counterparts should take a compassionate view of the problems of women. There is no harm in adjusting a woman constable to some other job when she is in the family way or if she has small children."

BSF Inspector General (IG) Aditya Mishra said: "A majority of women constables got married. Many of them are either in the family way or have applied for maternity leave. In such cases, there is a need for certain changes to smoothen the 24X7 vigilant duty on the border."
Mishra added that it's time to understand that the age-old perceptions of a strict work culture needs to be softened when it comes to 'gynaecological issues'. "When a woman is pregnant, she is bound with certain physical limitations and the male counterpart needs to adjust to it. Even they, too, have seen their wives undergoing the same stages in life," he said.
"After all, a woman constable in an advance stage of her pregnancy cannot be forced and asked to perform a harsh duty of manning the active border. The women constables have been working at par with their male counterparts but then it is time that we sit and talk about these issues and help maintain an excellent work culture," he added.
At present, more than 700 women constables have been deployed in different battalions along the 553 km Indo-Pak border. The women constables were first recruited in 2009.

The BSF authorities also said that earlier it was an all and all men bastion where one would often spot the BSF personnel performing duties under any circumstances. "Those were the times when it was a common practice to see men behave 'manly' and would even go up to the extent of shouting, abusing and speaking loud for making the jawans perform duty at any cost. But, one cannot apply same rules for women constables, when they seek leave or request for a change in duty owing to family way issues," DIG Uniyal added.

789 new recruits join BSF Our Correspondent

Fazilka, March 3
Altogether 789 newly recruits were formally inducted as soldiers of the Border Security Force (BSF) as they participated in the passing out parade which was held with precision and dignity at an impressive programme conducted at the BSF headquarters in village Fallinawla in Fazilka district.

This was the maiden programme in the area when a large number of soldiers participated in an event like passing out parade.

The parade was reviewed by DIG, BSF, Vimal Satyarthi, who administered the oath to the soldiers.

The young soldiers had entered into the BSF portal in December 2011. They came from different parts of the country with the dream of joining the first line of defence of the country. They underwent physical training to survive in the most inhospitable terrain and learnt the art of fighting the enemy with precision.

They displayed excellent timing, perfect coordination and a high standard of discipline in the true tradition of the force today.

Speaking on the occasion, DIG Satyarthi exhorted the young soldiers to maintain high standards set by their predecessor on the border to defend the country and in internal security while assisting the civil authorities.

"Thorough training has been given to the soldiers so that they could discharge their duties with dedication and honestly,” Satyarthi added.

During the passing out parade, four soldiers, Ujjwal Kumar Dass of 18 Battaion, Shivraj Singh of 22 Battalion, Sushil Sharma of 2nd Battalion and Parvinder Kumar of 23 Battalion were awarded medals for performing meritoriously during the training.

Commandant of the 30 Battalion, SPS Sandhu and other Border Security Force officials were also present at the passing out parade.

BSF holds free medical camps Our Correspondent

Abohar, March 3
The 60th Battalion of the Border Security Force organised a free medical camp in border village 40KYD. Commandant Anil Kumar Verma inaugurated the camp and a team of doctors examined as many as 257 patients. Verma interacted with Ravinder Kaswan and other social activists besides distributing teaching and sports material among the children on the occasion.
He informed that such camps would be organised in villages Gokulgarh, Bhurasar and Anandgarh during the next few days.
The 56th Battalion of the BSF organised such a camp in village 14BD.
Officiating commandant Ram Pal Dagar was the chief guest. A team led by Dr Satish Legha examined about 550 patients who had arrived from different villages.