Lt Gen Suhag is new Army Vice-Chief

Lt Gen Rai is Eastern Commander, Lt Gen Arun Kumar Sahni is South-Western Commander
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 12
Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag was today appointed Vice-Chief of the Indian Army, setting him in line to take over as the next chief of the 1.4 million-strong force when General Bikram Singh retires on July 31 next year.

From the 4/5 Gorkha Rifles regiment, Lt Gen Suhag replaces Lt Gen SK Singh, who superannuates on December 31. The General has seen action in “Op Pawan” in Sri Lanka. He commanded 53 Infantry Brigade in counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley. As a Major general, he commanded Khumbhathang (Kargil-based) 8 Mountain Division.



He was posted as Eastern Army Commander in June 2012. Prior to that, he was the GOC 3 Corps at Dimapur, Nagaland. He has also served in Special Frontier Force, a super-secret unit functioning under the Cabinet Secretary.

Before Lt Gen Suhag was to be appointed as Eastern Army Commander, Gen VK Singh, the then Chief of the Indian Army, imposed a discipline and vigilance ban on him. That was after the PM-headed Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) had cleared the appointment. The ban was overturned when General Bikram Singh took over on June 1 last.

Two new Army Commanders have also been appointed. Lt Gen MMS Rai, who has commanded the Jodhpur-based 12 Corps, replaces Lt Gen Suhag as the new Eastern Army Commander in Kolkata. Lt Gen Rai is from the Corps of Engineers.

Lt Gen Arun Kumar Sahni has been appointed as the South-Western Army Commander at Jaipur, replacing Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan who is superannuating on December 31. Lt Gen Sahni is from the Regiment of Artillery. He was awarded ‘Sword of Honour’when he was commissioned into the Army in 1970s for being the best all round Gentleman Cadet and the ‘President’s Gold Medal’ for standing first in his course.