Navy officer sentenced to 18 months’ RI for corruption

A general court martial has found a senior Naval officer guilty of corruption charges, a year after the Western Naval Command launched a probe.

South Block sources said the court martial this week ordered that Commodore N.M. Pandit undergo rigorous imprisonment for 18 months, be stripped of his rank and pay a heavy fine. Pandit’s rank will be reduced to substantative Captain and he will be dismissed while he serves his sentence.

In April last year, the Navy began a probe after several irregularities surfaced in the Materials Procurement division. While Pandit, then Materials Superintendent, emerged as the main suspect, the Navy took the unprecedented step of disbanding the whole division under the orders of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice-Admiral Arun Prakash.