Veterans unhappy over politicians' presence at rope-pulling ceremony as Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Aujla takes over as Chinar Corps GOC

Samaan Lateef

Srinagar, May 9

Lieutenant General Devendra Pratap Pandey today handed over the command of the strategic 15 Corps, also known as Chinar Corps, in Srinagar to Lieutenant General Amardeep Singh Aujla.

The new General Officer Commanding (GOC) has served in the Valley several times in the past, including as the Brigadier General (Operations) from 2016 to 2018 when Kashmir saw massive protests following the killing of Burhan Wani, the poster boy of the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group. He was Company Commander from 1994 to 2004 in the Valley. He commanded Infantry Brigade from 2013 to 2015 and Infantry Division from 2019 to 2020 along the Line of Control.

Pandey has been posted as Commandant, Army War College, Mhow, Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the participation of civilians and political activists in Lt Gen Pandey’s rope-pulling ceremony, wherein an officer’s vehicle is pulled using ropes, drew criticism from retired Army officers. Major General BS Dhanoa (retired) tweeted, “Never seen civilians before in what is a purely military send off.” Another veteran, Ajay Yadav tweeted, “A lot of photo ops during his tenure.”

The Army’s official handout released today stated, “Various programmes were incorporated to stymie the radicalisation and incitement being carried out by white-collar terrorists to misguide and force the youth of Kashmir onto the path of violence.”