Army court indicts Lt Gen in land scam

An army court of enquiry has indicted a serving Lieutenant General in a land scam in Darjeeling in West Bengal, an official said on Monday. The court of enquiry has found Lt. Gen. Awadesh Prakash, "blameworthy", said an official, not divulging further details of the findings of the report.

An army court of enquiry has indicted a serving Lieutenant General in a land scam in Darjeeling in West Bengal, an official said on Monday.

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The court of enquiry, which concluded on Saturday, was constituted to look into allegations of subverting rules to give a no-objection certificate to an educational institution to open its premises near an army institution in Darjeeling.

The court of enquiry has found Lt. Gen. Awadesh Prakash, "blameworthy", said an official, not divulging further details of the findings of the report. Lt. Gen. Prakash is currently posted as Military Secretary at the army headquarters in Delhi

Earlier, the Indian Army had cancelled the appointment of Lt Gen P.K. Rath as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff after his name cropped up in the land scam.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony had ordered a probe into the land scam allegations and on a number of occasions, pointed out that even top brass of the Army would not be spared if the charges against them were proved.

A no objection certificate is mandatory for sale of land adjacent to military stations due to security reasons.

The Army inquiry would also look into documents relating to the NOC being forged and the original documents rejecting the NOC being replaced with forged papers in the Army records.

A preliminary Army probe had revealed that the institution had no connection with Mayo College, the premise under which the NOC was issued.