Chandigarh, August 11
The Army has ordered trial by a general court martial of a Colonel held blameworthy for leak of highly sensitive military information, which was reportedly passed on to Pakistani intelligence by an Army jawan posted as a clerk in his office, it is learnt.
The officer, Col Deepak Raina, faces three charges pertaining to information leak and two for misconduct with jawans, sources at Army Headquarters revealed. The court martial to be presided over by Deputy GOC, 2 mountain division, Brig P S Minhas is scheduled to commence on September 16 at Talelpur near Guwahati.
The officer, on his part, has denied the allegations levelled against him and has maintained that he made copies of documents with permission, sources add.
While posted in the operations branch at a corps headquarters, the officer had reportedly got copies of certain documents and reports made from the clerk, Lance Naik Javed Khan, who duplicated the same for his nefarious activities. The copies were apparently made in violation of security procedures.
Three charges levelled against him under Section 63 of the Army Act include getting unauthorised copies of documents made, allowing a fax machine to be installed in the clerks’ room instead of an officer’s room as required and failure to forward an intelligence report within the stipulated time
Sources said that after the officer was posted from Headquarters 4 Corps to 9 Corps for its raising, he allegedly got copies of various operational procedures and other reports made which could be of “help” or “assistance” In getting the new formation off the ground. The copies were saved on a compact disk, which were reportedly duplicated by Javed. Copies of several other classified reports and intelligence assessments were also made by Javed.
Javed had been arrested along with his father, Hanif Khan, a retired IAF sergeant from Guwahati in July last during a joint operation by the Intelligence Bureau and the Assam Police. According to reports, he used to pass on sensitive information to his father, said to be an ISI mole. A GCM later sentenced him to 14 years rigorous imprisonment.
The Army had then admitted a breach of security. The documents passed on by Javed and his father, are said to include minutes of a meeting held in October 2004, in which the then Army chief, Gen N.C. Vij, was present, and another in April 2005 which was attended by the present Army chief, Gen J.J. Singh, details of missile deployments and weapons upgradation, redeployment plans of infantry battalions, sector-wise deployment of 4 Corps troops along the border with China, background notes for a scheduled Army commanders conference and doctrinal documents on warfare in a nuclear backdrop.
