NEW DELHI: The Army says it proactively handed over the case involving bribes and irregularities in the selection of officers to the CBI to ensure such corruption was weeded out from within the 13-lakh force.
The CBI has lodged an FIR against 17 Army personnel, including six Lt-Colonels, two Majors and two cadets of the Officers’ Training Academy (Chennai), as well as six civilians for being allegedly involved in the scam at the Services Selection Board (SSB) centre at Kapurthala in Punjab and elsewhere.
“The personnel who have acted against our ethos and reputation will be taken to task. The Army is committed to weed out corruption from within the organisation,” said a senior officer.
The Army did the “entire groundwork” in the case, which included listing out the various accused, before handing it over to the CBI. “The CBI was brought in since there were some civilians and other entities involved, while the money trail also needed to be probed and investigated,” said the officer.
Army chief General M M Naravane has several times stated that corruption within the force will neither be tolerated nor condoned. “Swift arrests and the handing over of the investigation to CBI shows the resolve to take the case to its logical conclusion,” said the officer.
“The Army does not believe in cover-ups in the garb that it will tarnish the image of the organisation. We would also like to send a message to the youth of the country who aspire to join the force to not fall prey to false promises of touts and unscrupulous elements,” he added.