Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes over as army vice chief

Lt General Manoj Pande has commanded an engineer brigade in the western theatre, infantry brigade along LoC, a mountain division in the Ladakh sector and a corps in the North-east.

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant General Manoj Pande on Tuesday took over as the army’s vice chief, replacing Lieutenant General CP Mohanty who retired on Monday, the army said in a statement. Before assuming the charge of vice chief, Pande was heading the Kolkata-based HQs Eastern Command.

Newly appointed Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt General Manoj Pande arrives at South Block to take charge. (ANI)

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Pande was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers in December 1982.

Lt General Manoj Pande commanded an engineer regiment during Operation Parakram in the Pallanwala Sector along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Operation Parakram, the large-scale mobilisation of troops and weapons to the western border, followed the December 2001 terror attack on Parliament that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

In his 39-year military career, Lt General Pande has commanded an engineer brigade in the western theatre, infantry brigade along LoC, a mountain division in the Ladakh sector and a corps in the North-east. He was the commander-in-chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command before he took charge of the Eastern Command.

Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, seen by many as the frontrunner for the chief of defence staff’s post, is due to retire on April 30. Pande will be the senior-most officer in the army when Naravane retires, and he will be top contender for the army chief’s post. Army Training Command chief Lieutenant General Raj Shukla is set to retire on March 31.