Lt Gen Dalbir Singh,who had been issued a showcause notice by Gen V K Singh during his last days as army chief for unprofessional handling of an investigation into a botched up intelligence operation,has sent his reply to the Army HQ,explaining his actions and decisions on the case. The Army HQ will now take a call on removing the Disciple and Vigilance (DV) ban that had been imposed on him by Gen VK Singh. If Army HQ and new Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh find Lt Gen Dalbirs answer satisfactory,he can be absolved of the charges,clearing the way for the officer to take over as the Eastern Army Commander. The Eastern Army Command is currently headless as Lt Gen Dalbirs appointment,though cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC),is on hold due to the DV ban. Lt Gen Dalbir filed his reply to the show cause notice well short of the June 10 deadline given to him. The deadline was extended by 10 days after Gen V K Singh faced criticism from the Defence Ministry for deliberately targeting the officer in his last few days in office. As reported,in a parting shot,General V K trained his guns on Lt Gen Dalbir who is slated to take over as army chief in 2014 alleging inaction by the officer on a complaint about an alleged fake encounter at the Dimapur-based 3 Corps. In March,Gen V K had also asked the CBI to investigate charges of an alleged procurement scam in the cabinet secretariat when the officer was in charge. This investigation was,however,dropped as the cabinet secretariat clear him of all charges.
