No armed coup can take place in India, says former Army Chief Gen V K Singh

Describing such reports as a "farce", he said, "They were to damage my credibility. It also damaged the image of the Army...The whole aim was to malign a person but you are actually trying to destroy an institution. How can that be permitted."

He went on to add, "It has fanned stupid phobias people have been living with. It has tarnished the image of the Army."

Over a month before Singh retired in May 2012, a news story had suggested that an armoured unit from Hisar and a para brigade unit from Agra had moved towards the capital during the intervening night of January 15 and 16, creating fear in the government circles he was planning a coup.