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Ex Military Secy attached to Eastern Command

February 17, 2010 20:19 IST

Former Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadesh Prakash, indicted in the Sukna land scam, was attached to the Kolkata-based Eastern Command on Wednesday and asked to report there on February 25.

The Army had recently ordered court martial proceedings against him in the scam and Prakash had challenged the disciplinary action against him in the Armed Forces Tribunal, which has reserved its orders after hearing the petition.

The attachment orders issued on February 6 asking him to report by February 18 initially was postponed after Prakash  filed an application in the AFT saying he was delivered the orders only on Tuesday, sources close to Prakash said in New Delhi.

After his attachment, the Army will initiate court martial proceedings against him and summary of evidence will be recorded in the Army court, which will be presided over by an officer senior to him.

Prakash, along with former 33 Corps Commander Lieutenant General P K Rath, is facing court martial in the case that relates to No-Objection Certificate given by army to a private realtor to construct an educational institution on a 71-acre plot adjacent to Sukna military base in Darjeeling.

Prakash is the senior-most of the four generals indicted in the case. He retired from the Service on January 31 but the Army invoked the Army Rule 123 against him, which allows it to carry out court martial proceedings against officers up to three years after retirement. Besides Prakash and Rath, an Army Court of Inquiry had indicted Lieutenant General Ramesh Halgali and Major General P C Sen in the scam and they are facing administrative action for their alleged role in the case.

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