January 22, 2002	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 7, 1422

NEW DELHI, Jan 21: The Indian army has removed a senior commander heading one of the three strategic strike corps deployed along the Pakistan border.

Though no clear reason has been given for the removal of Lt Gen Kapil Vij, the Hindu newspaper said the corps commander had been directed to proceed on leave for committing “tactical errors during the forward deployment of a strike corps”.

A newspaper said Vij was found to have “overreached his brief” during the deployment of his corps and this had been detected by US spy satellites and brought to the notice of the Indian authorities.

In the event of a war, the strike corps is tasked with the crucial role of launching offensive operations in enemy territory.

India has deployed all three of its strike corps along with thousands of other troops along its borders with Pakistan in recent weeks.

This is the second time senior officers in the Indian army have been rapped on the knuckles for going beyond their brief.

On Jan 11, Defence Minister George Fernandes issued a statement playing down a remark by army chief Gen Sunderajan Padmanabhan on India’s readiness to engage in a nuclear war with Pakistan.—AFP