A pilferage scam running into crores of rupees has come to light in the army's strategic Leh Corps in Jammu and Kashmir with police detecting clothing and rations meant for troops deployed on the Saichen glacier being sold in local markets.
NEW DELHI: A pilferage scam running into crores of rupees has come to light in the army's strategic Leh Corps in Jammu and Kashmir with police detecting clothing and rations meant for troops deployed on the Saichen glacier being sold in local markets.
Jammu & Kashmir Police have registered 11 FIRs since July after finding food packets and other equipment meant for Siachen being sold in the open market but the army has refused to cooperate in the probe, sources said.
Police have so far arrested 31 people, including shopkeepers, in various areas in northern Kashmir. A few of them have made confessional statements before magistrates, during which they named senior army officers who allegedly supplied the materials to them.
Armed with the confessional statements, police approached the Leh-based 14 Corps for questioning certain officers but the army refused to cooperate, sources said.
The matter has now been taken up by the state government with the army's top brass as local commanders are refusing to entertain police's request, they said.
What surprised police was the seizure of high quality parachutes, trousers and jackets meant for use at high altitudes. Police also seized army boots in the Nubra Valley, near the Siachen glacier, which were being sold to trekkers visiting the area, the sources said.
Most of the equipment for soldiers deployed on Siachen, the world's highest and coldest battlefield, is very expensive and purchased from European countries.
The defence ministry, when contacted, refused to comment on the issue but sources in New Delhi said a report on the alleged pilferage of the army equipment had been sought from the commander of the Leh-based Corps.
The police seized the boots and trousers at a time when the army's high command and the defence ministry are running from pillar to post for meet the requirements of troops in Saichen. The local command too had made a requisition for the special high altitude gear needed by the soldiers.
Recently, army rations including high-calorie food items meant for soldiers defending the borders in inhospitable terrain, were found on sale in the markets of Leh.
Sources said that while the army might want to conduct an internal enquiry so that the role of its officers does not come out in the open, the state police was set to move court for production of the army personnel allegedly involved in the scam so that the truth could be established.
"It is virtually a crime against the nation," a senior police officer said.
Police registered the first FIR against shopkeepers and unknown army officers under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code related to cheating, the sources said.
During subsequent investigations, the alleged involvement of several army officers, including one of the rank of colonel, came to light, they said.
The police have conducted two dozen raids so far and more are in the offing, the sources said.
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