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Home > Interviews > Military & Aerospace > Who else is the beneficiary of CSD Liquor?

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By Maj Gen Chander NandwaniIssue Net Edition | Date : 11 May , 2012

Way back in 1995, I was posted as Additional Director General of Supplies & Transportin Army Headquarters. Apart from my routine responsibilities, I was also given additionalcharge of managing Army Headquarters (AHQ) canteen, as its Chairman. It wasnt muchof a prized post, since a retired Colonel appointed as the Canteen Manager with around50 to 60 civilian employees working under him, was essentially accountable, for theday-to-day functioning of the canteen.

Soon after taking over the additionalresponsibility, I decided to pay a visit to the

AHQ canteen during the lunch hour break to geta Feedback from the employees with regard to

their working conditions as also motivate themto provide better service to the customers. After patiently listening to their woes and givingon-the-spot decisions to improve their workingconditions, I made a remark that while beingposted at Delhi on three earlier occasions, I hadnever patronized AHQ canteen, as more oftenthan not, all the attractive consumer itemsincluding popular brands of liquor were seldomaccessible to the customers. Therefore, myarea of focus would be to strictly monitor theindenting and sale of such items. For thispurpose, computers would be installed in thecanteen and sale of liquor strictly regulated through issue of new cards after due

verification of the cardholders. Further, the existing liquor cards in use would bediscontinued straightaway and destroyed.

The next day, all hell was let loose against me. Big posters were pasted at every nookand corner of Sena Bhawan and South Block, making serious allegations against me.Radhe Shyam (name changed), a labourer and the union leader of AHQ Canteen civilianemployees, having three buses and two flats in Delhi, threatened that there would beMass Joint Self Immolation by all employees at Jantar Mantar on the Republic Day (dueafter 10 days or so), if Maj Gen Chander Nandwani was not immediately removed fromthe post of Chairman of the canteen. News items on similar lines were also published inthe reputed national dailies. The allegations made against me included taking of a bigbribe for purchase new computers, favouring purchase of specific liquor brands, coercingwomen employees for sexual favours and so on. I was particularly tickled by theallegation of sexual favours and cheekily informed my wife that surely my standing in this

regard was now far better than what she had imagined during past several years of our married life!!!

I was immediately summoned by the Quarter Master General (QMG), under whom thecanteen functioned, and was asked to brief him

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lse is the beneficiary of CSD Liquor? Indian Defence Review http://ww w.indiandefencereview.com/interviews/who-else-is-the-benefi ciary-of-csd-liquor/

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on this sudden turn of events when everythingwas going on so smoothly before I took over the charge of the AHQ canteen. I requested for a couple of days time to make discreetenquiries. Before I could say Jack Robinson,there was a note from the MOD signed by aDirector level officer asking the Chief of ArmyStaff (COAS) to comment on the allegationsmade against me and take all possiblemeasures, including removing me from the postof Chairman, to avoid any embarrassment to

the Govt., should the threat of MassSelf-Immolation materialize, just prior to theRepublic Day. What a joke! The matter did notend there. This note from MOD was followedby another note through which, a memorandumsigned by 13 MPs and addressed to theDefence Minister, was also forwarded to the COAS, urging him to remove me from thepost. This raised the hackles of the then COAS, late General BC Joshi. He called theQMG to his office and asked him to take the matter very seriously and put up a draftreply to both the notes of the MOD, for his approval. In the meanwhile an interim replywas sent to the MOD that the matter was being investigated.

My preliminary investigations revealed that a perfect nexus existed between the canteencivilian staff union leader Radhe Shyam, a few officials of MOD and a large number of

politicians, to whom liquor was being supplied from AHQ canteen, on a regular basis. Of course the demand increased manifold during the time of elections. What intrigued methe most was the modus operandi of smuggling out of such large quantities of liquor,with the Military Police and several other security agencies working in the highly sensitiveareas of Army Headquarters and MOD. The actuality came to light when a disgruntled excivilian employee of the canteen spilled the beans to me on promise of strict anonymity. Iwas shaken out of my bones when the truth came to light and immediately ran to theoffice of QMG to give him the details. He dis-believed me and decided to get the factsverified through a field security agency of the army and learnt to his horror that what Ihad disclosed to him was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Well this is how the system worked. The unionleader had in his custody hundreds of old liquor cards of servicemen and/or ex-servicemen whohad either left the station or had died. He drewchoicest brands of liquor from the canteen in thenames of these personnel and hadsimultaneously perfected a distribution systemthrough which the liquor was delivered right atthe doorsteps of t he selected MOD officials andseveral politicians apart from other influentialclients in the ministry. Surprisingly, right next tothe AHQ canteen was the parking lot of VIPstaff cars and some of these staff car drivers had been bought over by Radhe Shyam bygiving them free bottles of rum and other lucrative canteen items such as expensivewatches etc. During the lunch break when security was lax, these drivers would reversetheir cars next to the canteen bulk store, wherefrom crates of liquor were loaded into thedickey of these staff cars. Radhe Shyam instructed these drivers to deliver the liquor crates at various locations after dropping the VIPs at their respective residences. Wowwhat an ingenuous idea! The irony of the matter is that the staff cars with the flags & star plates of Generals, Admirals and Air Marshals (including the QMG), without theknowledge of the occupants, were being illegitimately used by unscrupulous individualsfor their unholy deeds. Sadly these very senior officers had unknowingly become couriersof liquor for the politicians. No wonder there was such a sharp reaction from all quarters,when I had only hinted at introducing computers to check the sale of liquor from the AHQcanteen!

The Chief on being informed of the facts of the case directed the QMG to give me fullprotection and total support to cleanse the system. I obtained legal advice from a leadingcivilian lawyer. He advised me to request for an enquiry against myself since I had takenover the post barely 10 days earlier and had nothing to hide. Thereafter, on my specificrequest on file, a court of inquiry was ordered by the QMG to investigate into theallegations made by Radhe Shyam, which were supported by the MOD and the MPs.

The court of Inquiry proved these allegations to be false, baseless and malicious with thesole aim of having me removed from the post due to ulterior motives. To avoid severalheads from rolling, the MOD and the MPs were politely told by the then COAS verballythat the matter had been thoroughly investigated by a high-powered court of Inquiry,which had opined that there was no truth in the allegations made by the union leader.Hence the matter was not being pursued further to save all concerned from grave


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embarrassment.

On directions of the QMG, the services of the union leader were terminated under mysignatures and the whole system revamped with the introduction of computers, thusbringing to an end the sordid drama of The Canteen Liquor Connection of MOD!

My only regret still remains that the allegation of my so-called sexual exploits with womenemployees was also quashed in the bargain, thus proving the obvious!!!

Read Next : A Lesson in Ethics by an Army Officer

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