30 July,2010 07:37 AM IST | | Anshuman G Dutta
Beleaguered soldier, who allegedly received kickbacks in Army transportation, seeks divine intervention
An Indian Army Colonel, who is awaiting court martial and dismissal from service, has sought divine intervention to correct his faulty grah-nakshatra. Interestingly, the colonel sought the solution for the 'errant stars' on an astrology website, mentioning his rank and name besides posting important dates related to disciplinary action against him.u00a0
Time for Tarot: A webshot of the site on which the colonel posted his details
Colonel Sanjay Jethi, the former commandant of Ordnance Depot at Mumbai was responsible for delivery of truck tyres to army units located across the country. But in connivance with private contractors and transporters, the colonel allegedly developed a unique strategy to fleece the army.
The ordnance depot hires private trucks to transport the material which lands at Mumbai dockyard. Colonel Jethi's modus operandiu00a0- which has surprised every one in the military fraternity- was to hire trucks of 9-tonne capacity for the job but record them as 16-tonne trucks in the account books. With the aid of the private transporters the colonel also made necessary modifications in the truck to give it the appearance of a bigger truck. The material used for the modification was mostly canvas.
"The cost of hiring a 16-tonne truck is much higher than a nine-tonner and there is a price difference of at least 1.5 times between the two," said a Ministry of Defence (MoD) official. According to sources, during the court of inquiry (CoI) the total misappropriation of funds were recorded to the tune of about Rs 50 lakh. During the CoI, which was headed by a brigadier rank official, few more surprising facts sprang out against the colonel.
It was also discovered that on various occasions the trucks laden with goods existed only in the records and account books only. The colonel did maximum misappropriation of funds with the transportation of truck tyres to army units posted at different locations in the country.u00a0
The colonel's misdeeds were revealed when the authorities compared the chassis number of the trucks. "The chassis number of two trucks can never be the same but the account books gave same chassis numbers for nine and 16-tonne capacity trucks," said the officer. The CoI found the colonel guilty and recommended his dismissal from service.
Besides approaching the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) where he has challenged the recommendations of the CoI, the colonel also contacted a famous astrology website - indiadivine.org- for astrological help.
| What the Panditji said |
| The first mail was posted on February 28, 2010 where he gave a brief history of the case and also mentioned his date of birth. Very soon a series of interactions began between the colonel and the website, which claimed that he was undergoing problems in his professional life because of the "transit of Saturn through the Simha rasi where Sun+Venus are occupying the Native chart." |
