Battling controversy,old age,former Navy Chief Admiral Nanda passes away
Admiral S M Nanda,a doyen of the Indian Navy who later got embroiled in an arms deal controversy,passed away in the Capital on Monday after a prolonged illness brought on by old age.
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Admiral S M Nanda,a doyen of the Indian Navy who later got embroiled in an arms deal controversy,passed away in the Capital on Monday after a prolonged illness brought on by old age.
The officer,who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his exemplary leadership of the Indian Navy during the only ever action in war by Indias maritime force in 1971,came under fire in the later years after his son was investigated and arrested for acting as an arms agent in two major deals following the Tehelka expose.
The officer is revered in the Navy as the architect of the famous Karachi bombing in 1971 when Indian missile boats bombed the Karachi port and started a fire that lasted for seven days and burnt up Pakistans fuel reserves.
He will always be remembered in the most glowing terms for his leadership of the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pak Conflict of 1971,in which the Indian Navy carved its name in golden letters in the annals of history by its sterling offensive actions, said Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
Nanda was also associated with the famous hoodwinking of the Pakistani Navy during the 1971 war when an intelligence operation was launched to misguide it into thinking that Indias sole aircraft carrier,the INS Vikrant was in Vizag.
This prompted Pakistan to send its most advanced submarine Ghazi in search of the warship that led to the eventual sinking of the Pakistani vessel near Chennai.
However,Nandas association with the Crown Corporation,headed by his son and known arms dealer Suresh Nanda cast a shadow on his image in later years.
The Nanda family also came into controversy following the BMW hit-and-run case involving his grandson,Sanjeev,who is currently serving a prison term.
Crown Corporation,which was investigated extensively by the CBI for arranging weapons deals for foreign companies,came under fire for the Barak missile deal with Israel in which Suresh Nanda was accused.
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