Sukhna scam: Charges against Lt Prakash to be framed in Kolkata - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The charges against former Military Secretary Lt General (retired) Avadesh Prakash in connection with the Sukhna land scam are expected to be framed in Kolkata on Wednesday. It has been reported that over a dozen army officials will be flying to Kolkata to testify as witnesses when the charges are read out. The court martial proceedings are likely to begin after a summary of evidences is presented to the court. The Armed Forces Tribunal had on Friday issued notice to the army to produce the findings of the Court of Inquiry (COI) in the Sukna land scam and raised a number of questions over the role of Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash in the case. During the hearing by the two-member tribunal, Prakash's counsel Jyoti Singh accused Lt Gen P K Rath, who is also facing a court martial in this case, of being the main culprit. Prakash and three other Generals have been indicted by an Eastern Army Command Court of Inquiry for giving a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to a private realtor to construct an educational institute on a plot of land adjacent to the Sukhna Army base in Darjeeling. The Court of Inquiry into the Sukhna land scam case, in which three other Army generals have been indicted, holds Lt General Prakash responsible for allegedly hiding information and taking undue interest in promoting the vested agenda of real estate developer and family friend Dilip Agarwal.