The crucial post of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command has fallen vacant after General Bikram Singh took over as the new Army Chief in New Delhi on Thursday. The Army is yet to appoint a senior officer, of the rank of lieutenant-general, to head the command in his place.
Such a situation is rare in the history of the command and the defence ministry, several Army officers pointed out. The impasse is “undesirable”, they observed. Army sources indicate that the stalemate is expected to continue for over a week. It is only after 10 days that the “picture” may become clear once the new Army Chief takes a decision, sources suggested.
The crisis arose after the appointment of Lt Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, GOC of the Dimapur-based 3 Corps, was kept on hold after he was put under a discipline and vigilance ban (DV ban). He was earlier tipped to head the Eastern Command and then succeed the Gen. Bikram Singh as Army Chief. But Gen. V.K. Singh, who retired on Thursday, slapped a showcause notice and DV ban on Lt Gen. Suhag in May. He sought an explanation from him after allegations surfaced against Lt Gen. Suhag of a botched operation by an intelligence unit under him at Jorhat, Assam, in December.
Army sources disclosed that Gen. Bikram Singh will “take a call on the issue” and may even either revert or endorse his predecessor’s action as he has the power to do so.