Suhag to head Eastern Army Command from Saturday

New Delhi: Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, whose promotion was held up by former army chief General VK Singh, was today appointed as the chief of the Kolkata-based Eastern Army Command. Elevation of Suhag, who is expected to succeed General Bikram Singh in 2014, as army chief had been stalled after General VK Singh imposed a Discipline and Vigilance (DV) ban on him in May in connection with a failed intelligence operation in Assam last year.[caption id=“attachment_345695” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Retired army chief General VK Singh. Image courtesy PIB”]  [/caption] However, General Bikram Singh cleared the way for his promotion by overturning General VK Singh’s decision on 3 June after receiving a reply from the 3 Corps Commander on the show cause notice issued to him by the former army chief. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has cleared the promotion of Lt Gen Suhag as Eastern Army Commander, army sources said. They said the officer will take over his new assignment from Saturday. Lt Gen Suhag, 3 Corps Commander, was slapped the DV ban and served a show-cause by General VK Singh just days before retiring as army chief. The vacancy at the Eastern Command had emerged after General Bikram Singh took over as army chief on 1 June. Till now, Lt Gen Suhag, being the senior-most Corps Commander in the Eastern Command, was looking after its working. PTI