New Delhi, Jul 15: Lt Gen G S Bisht, presently Commandant, Officers Training Academy, Gaya, has decided to seek the intervention of Defence Minister A K Antony before challenging the appointment of Lt Gen Nitin Kohli as signal officer-in-chief.
Lt Gen Kohli is presently DG, manpower planning and personnel at Army HQ and is expected to take over as signal officer-in-chief on August 31.
Army HQ sources said, Lt Gen Bisht was superceded on grounds of "suitability" for the job, which, they said, was an important criterion, apart from seniority in such appointments. Lt Gen Kohli was commissioned in Decmber 1975, six months after Lt Gen Bisht.
A retired general said, "It's a bit strange that an officer is found to be fit to be promoted to the three-star rank but unsuitable to hold a particular appointment in that rank."
The Corps of Signals is a vital wing of the Army which provides communications and electronic warfare support to military commanders, provides connctivity to navy and air force during joint operations. In a tenure of two to three years, a Signal officer-in-chief looks after communication projects worth more than Rs 3,000 crore.
