By IANS,
Pune : Lt. Gen. Ashok Singh took over as the new commandant of the tri-service National Defence Academy (NDA) Tuesday, an official said.
“Lt.Gen. Singh is an alumnus of the 45th NDA course. He was commissioned into 7 Guards in December 1974 and is the second generation officer in 7 Guards. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington,” the official said.
Lt Gen Singh has held many key command, staff and instructional assignments including that of defence and military advisor in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, command of a brigade in Jammu and Kashmir, a ‘Rapid’ division and the frontline 1 Corps, a strike formation, prior to the present appointment.
Lt Gen Singh has taken over at a critical juncture, in the aftermath of jobs scam storm that hit the prestigious tri-services officers’ academy.
An amount of Rs.3 to 4 lakh was allegedly taken as bribe from each candidate for jobs including that of cooks, gardeners, lab attendants, library attendants and cadet orderlies at NDA.
This resulted in NDA commandant Lt Gen Jatinder Singh getting unceremoniously shunted out from the post to ensure a free and fair investigation into the scam.