Army Officer Says Targeted For Exposing Fake Encounters, Extortions
NEW DELHI: An army officer posted in Manipur has told a court that his and family's lives are at danger because he had flagged fake encounters and extortions by a unit of the army's intelligence surveillance wing in the northeast. Army sources said the matter is sub-judice and an affidavit has already been submitted in court on the issue.
On July 1, Lieutenant Colonel Dharamvir Singh was allegedly arrested from his home in Imphal by armed jawans in the presence of two officers. After his wife Ranju Singh filed a complaint with the police, the Colonel surfaced in Dimapur on July 5.
In an affidavit filed at a court in Imphal on July 20, the 52-year-old officer said in September 2016, he had written a letter to senior officers,complaining about the extortions and fake killings by the army's intelligence surveillance unit. The officers, he said, promised action against the guilty, but he was pressured into withdrawing the letter.
His arrest, he alleged was part of a "vindictive approach" by some officers and an "organized campaign" to harass him.
In his affidavit, the Colonel also listed at least three incidents, which, he said, were instances of fake encounters. The dates given were March 10, 2010, February 5, 2010, and August 19, 2011.
Sources in the army indicated that there was no truth in the account of the officer's arrest. The officer, they indicated, was disaffected about his posting.
The sources also said allegations of these fake encounters had come up before the Gauhati High Court, but the court found no truth in them.
Babloo Loithingbam, an Imphal-based humans rights activist, said, "I had an opportunity to have a look at the affidavit it seems quite coherent. it fits into many of the independent monitoring that we have been doing so I think there is merit that requires proper examination of what Col Dharamvir is putting in his affidavit."
"The army had denied the arrest initially. But Mrs Dharmvir Singh pursued the matter in court and the affidavit is now sure to raise many uncomfortable questions for the army," he said.
courtesy : ndtv.com
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
