E-Paper
Army suspends senior officer
Lt Col Shukla, in-charge of an artillery regiment in Assam, was charged with organising abductions with NSCN's help.
An Indian Army commander in Assam has been suspended and a probe launched to investigate charges that he was masterminding kidnappings for ransom in collaboration with tribal separatists, officials Thursday said.
An army spokesperson said Lt Col Chandra Mohan Shukla, commanding an artillery regiment in the northeastern state of Assam, was charged with organising abductions of tea planters and businessmen with the help of militants belonging to the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).
The abductions were reported during the commander's five-year stint spread over two terms in southern Assam's Cachar district.
"The court of inquiry is looking into specific charges of Lt. Colonel Shukla's alleged involvement in several incidents of kidnappings for ransom," the army spokesperson said.
"If proved guilty, he will face severe punishment."
Shukla allegedly worked in tandem with some NSCN rebels and staged several abductions of tea garden managers and owners, besides affluent businessmen, from southern Assam.
"Once a tea planter or a businessman was kidnapped, it was Shukla who negotiated with family members or the garden management for securing the release of the abducted person in lieu of hefty ransom money," a senior Assam police official said.
The fraud came to light after a tea garden owner filed a complaint with the police accusing Shukla of being involved in the kidnapping of their manager.
"A planter was kidnapped by the NSCN and taken to their hideout sometime in 1999. Shukla managed to get him released after some unknown amount changed hands," the police official said.
"After the manager was released, he gave some hints about Shukla's fishy dealings, prompting us to investigate his role and subsequently informing senior army officials."
This is the latest in a series of controversies to have rocked the army. In October last year, a colonel was dismissed and a major suspended for faking killings by splashing tomato ketchup on civilians and passing them off as dead separatists - in the hope of being awarded.
Colonel HS Kohli had faked the killing of some separatists in the same Cachar district of Assam by making some civilians pose in photographs as enemy casualties after splashing their bodies with tomato puree.
"The colonel tried to use the photographs to back his claim for a gallantry award and was subsequently tried and found guilty in a court martial," the army spokesperson said.
"The colonel lost his job while a major, who connived with his superior in the fake saucy encounter, was suspended for five years."
According to new norms, army officers are graded and awarded promotions and bravery awards on the basis of the number of terrorists they capture and kill.
