Kargil war hero says he was relieved after ‘court of inquiry’ which was never constituted
Retired brigadier, Surinder Singh, who commanded the Kargil Brigade (121 Brigade), is the latest addition to the pantheon of mid-rung army officers, who are seeking redemption and retribution, being made responsible for the Kargil intelligence debacle of 1999.
The senior generals, Ved Prakash Malik, Kishen Pal, even VS Budhwar went scot-free dumping all the responsibilities on them for the stupendous initial failure to detect Pak forces’ – both regulars and jihadists – incursion into the area over the winter of early 1999.
To make matters worse, Surinder Singh, has recently discovered that he was relieved of his duties on 30 July 2001, on the basis of a court of inquiry (COI) in September, 1999 that did not even get constituted. He discovered this after he filed an application for information under the RTI Act from the 3 Division headquarters to which both the brigades he commanded, 101 and 121, belonged.
Singh claimed during a telephonic interview: ‘My brigade took on the most hazardous patrolling. I had briefed all my commanders (including the chief of army staff, VP Malik) about the possible Pakistan attack. I was called an alarmist.’
The charges that were brought against him were enshrined in the ‘terms of reference’ of the September, 1999 COI. It said he had violated the Officials Secrets Act and mishandled classified official documents.
Singh says: ‘One day when I was sleeping in my command bunker, a jawan had delivered a classified document from another officer. He saw me asleep and left it by my side and went away.
Now, the rule was, if a classified official paper was to be transmitted it had to be delivered by hand from one officer to another. That was not the case with this document.’
He has made the RTI response a part of his petition at the Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal. The RTI application’s response from the headquarters 3 Infantry Division was categorical. It said: ‘No C of I was convened by HQ 3 Inf Div A branch during the month of Sep 1999.’
General VP Malik, who was the COAS during the Kargil conflict and also in 2000 was very harsh in issuing a showcause to Singh. In that showcause, the general had held out a threat of dismissal under Rule 19 of the Army service rules. The notice had held that Singh had leaked classified documents to the media, and had vacated a forward post in the Kaksar sub-sector, without authorisation.
With the new revelations armed with the RTI response, Singh is now ready to launch a fresh offensive seeking justice. And justice should be done.
The senior generals, Ved Prakash Malik, Kishen Pal, even VS Budhwar went scot-free dumping all the responsibilities on them for the stupendous initial failure to detect Pak forces’ – both regulars and jihadists – incursion into the area over the winter of early 1999.
To make matters worse, Surinder Singh, has recently discovered that he was relieved of his duties on 30 July 2001, on the basis of a court of inquiry (COI) in September, 1999 that did not even get constituted. He discovered this after he filed an application for information under the RTI Act from the 3 Division headquarters to which both the brigades he commanded, 101 and 121, belonged.
Singh claimed during a telephonic interview: ‘My brigade took on the most hazardous patrolling. I had briefed all my commanders (including the chief of army staff, VP Malik) about the possible Pakistan attack. I was called an alarmist.’
The charges that were brought against him were enshrined in the ‘terms of reference’ of the September, 1999 COI. It said he had violated the Officials Secrets Act and mishandled classified official documents.
Singh says: ‘One day when I was sleeping in my command bunker, a jawan had delivered a classified document from another officer. He saw me asleep and left it by my side and went away.
Now, the rule was, if a classified official paper was to be transmitted it had to be delivered by hand from one officer to another. That was not the case with this document.’
He has made the RTI response a part of his petition at the Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal. The RTI application’s response from the headquarters 3 Infantry Division was categorical. It said: ‘No C of I was convened by HQ 3 Inf Div A branch during the month of Sep 1999.’
General VP Malik, who was the COAS during the Kargil conflict and also in 2000 was very harsh in issuing a showcause to Singh. In that showcause, the general had held out a threat of dismissal under Rule 19 of the Army service rules. The notice had held that Singh had leaked classified documents to the media, and had vacated a forward post in the Kaksar sub-sector, without authorisation.
With the new revelations armed with the RTI response, Singh is now ready to launch a fresh offensive seeking justice. And justice should be done.