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General quits under cloud

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

The commander of the army corps guarding the Kargil heights has forwarded his resignation to army headquarters after an internal inquiry indicted him for immoral conduct.

The army had given Lieutenant General A B Masih -- whom army chief General Ved Prakash Malik had chosen to look after the Kargil heights -- two options: Quit or face internal action including a court martial.

According to army sources, the general opted to resign. His resignation letter says he wants to be relieved of his duties because he wants to look after his ailing wife.

Lt Gen Masih belongs to the Kumaon Regiment, and has held several crucial posts.

The army initiated the inquiry after a brigadier complained to army headquarters that the general had tried to molest his wife. The brigadier enclosed a letter written by his wife to that effect with his complaint.

The inquiry revealed that the general knew the couple from the time he was posted to the School of Combat at Mhow.

Lt Gen Masih was thereafter posted as commander of the 33 Corps based at Bagdogra. And the brigadier, who was a colonel at Mhow, moved to Siliguri.

The Kargil heights witnessed a bloody war between India and Pakistan last summer. About 1,500 soldiers on both sides died in the conflict. After this battle the army decided to raise a separate corps for the Kargil sector.

The corps includes the 8 Mountain Division which moved into Kargil under Major General Mohinder Puri, and carried out several crucial missions of Operation Vijay.

With media criticism of Major General V S Budhwar, who then commanded the infantry division, and Kargil Brigade commander Brigadier Surinder Singh's public protests, the army chief decided to appoint an efficient officer to improve the security situation in Kargil.

Lt Gen Masih was the officer chosen. It was under his command that the troops braved the first winter after the Kargil war.

With such a serious allegations made by an officer of brigadier rank, army headquarters had no option but to conduct an inquiry.

This is not the first time that an officer of general's rank has had to quit for what the army terms 'immoral conduct'. When General Sunith Francis Rodrigues was the army chief, at least five officers -- including a lieutenant general and a major general -- quit or were removed from service for this offence.

With Lt Gen Masih's resignation, the army will have to fill up 12 vacancies of that rank this year. The 14 Corps and 33 Corps posts lie vacant and 10 lieutenant generals will retire this year.

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