Adarsh society accuses VK Singh of plotting to defame it

Mumbai, Jul 31: A week after claiming that high ranking officials from the MoD were targeting the Adarsh society as they were not granted membership, the society has now trained its gun on former Army Chief VK Singh, accusing him of being behind the "plot" to "settle scores with his predecessors".

According to the Adarsh society, Singh, who recently retired as Chief of Army Staff, initiated a plot to "tarnish and defame" the society and its members including several army officials and bureaucrats. The allegations against Singh have been levelled by the society in its reply filed in the Bombay High Court on an application by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) seeking to intervene in a batch of PILs related to the scam.

The MoD had sought to intervene after the society and Maharashtra government objected to the ongoing CBI probe into the scam as neither the state not the high court had ordered such an inquiry, as required under the law.

"The alleged Adarsh scam is a plot initiated by the then Army chief VK Singh. Singh had taken charge in April 2010 and had succeeded Deepak Kapoor, who is a member of Adarsh society," the reply said. It claimed that after taking charge Singh directed the Army headquarters to write a letter to the Southern Command in Pune seeking details about the Adarsh society matter.

"Singh sought details about the society to settle scores with his predecessors and wanted to tarnish and defame Adarsh society and its members," the society's reply filed by one of its members retired Lt Commander GS Grewal has alleged.

In a letter to MoD last week, the society had claimed that high ranking officials from the ministry were targeting it as they were not granted membership. The letter, which was issued in reply to MoD's May 28 notice asking the society and state government to hand over possession of the land to the Army had, however, not named any official from the MoD or Army.

PTI