Bhim Singh, head of the Jammu & Kashmir based National Panthers Party has come out in support of former army general, VK Singh, but demanded that any ‘secret’ funds used for influencing politicans be made public.
He called the allegations against former Singh “politically motivated, mala fide and without substance.”
The Indian Express had written that Singh had under him in the army a ‘technical support division’ that, at one time, tried to overthrow the Jammu & Kashmir government.
In response, Singh alleged that money used to be supplied to J&K ministers and politicians to keep them happy. He later clarified that the money was to be used for activities such as setting up play-grounds etc.
“If these allegations that money was paid to a minister or so and that too only three crores on record deserve appreciation that General V.K. Singh kept all such transactions intact and on record so that the functionaries would know the working of the so-called technical support division allegedly run under the Army supervision,” the NPP said.
Bhim Singh, who belongs to an old Dogra Rajput royal family, also used the occasion to poke holes in the moral outrage stand taken by current J&K chief minister Omar Abdulla. He reminded Omar, who asked for a CBI inquiry into the matter, that he’d opposed the CBI probe into the custodial death of Yousuf Haji on 29th September, 2011.
“Even FIR on his custodial death has not been registered in police station. Also no judicial inquiry has been permitted by the Chief Minister on dozen of rapes, killing and so-called encounters in J&K? Why the Chief Minister should not hold CBI inquiry into the circumstances that led to Kishtwar riots resulting into death of three innocent persons and causing immense damage to the private and public property,” Singh asked.
Bhim Singh has demanded that the secret funds kept at the disposal of all the Chief Ministers including the Governors and Army Chiefs should be made public. He also demanded that disbursement of the secret funds since 1947 particularly in J&K should be made public.
He demanded immediate action by the Defence Ministry against the person who have leaked out the secret findings in the so-called General V.K. Singh’s payments to some individuals.