Coup report: Movement of army units routine drill, says defence secy

Terming the movement of two army units towards Delhi in mid-January as a routine drill, Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma on Monday said no permission was required for the same from the government.

Appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, Sharma said the movement of the troops towards Delhi was a routine drill and no standard operating procedures were violated as it did not require permission from the government, sources said.

It is learnt that some MPs were of the opinion that after the clarification of the defence ministry and the army on the issue, the matter should be treated as closed.

This is for the second time that Sharma, along with Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen SK Singh, appeared before the panel on the issue.

Both were quizzed by the MPs in the Standing Committee on April 4 after the media report of suspicious movement of troops near the capital. Then they had dismissed it as baseless.