Army chief warns soldiers who fake disability to earn extra pension

PUNE: Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat on Thursday warned soldiers who falsely call themselves ‘disabled’ and make their disability a way to earn extra money, through disability pension.

“If a soldier is truly disabled, we will pay special attention to them and help them fully, even financially. But, those who falsely call themselves ‘disabled’ and make their disability a way to earn money, I am warning them today, that you better mend your ways otherwise in a few days you might receive special instructions from the Army Headquarters, which will not be good news for you,” he said.

General Rawat was attending a ceremony at the Bombay Engineering Group (BEG) & Centre, Kirkee, near Pune . The Indian Army declared 2018 as the ‘Year of the Disabled Soldiers (in line of duty)’ and to commemorate the same a ‘Samman Samaroh’ was organised by Southern Command on Thursday. Rawat criticised those officers, jawans and other ranks who cite hypertension, blood pressure and diabetes as the reason for being disabled and are not willing to be posted to operational areas.

“We can’t allow disability to become a reason for avoiding operational deployment and duties at the cost of those officers and men who continue to perform their duties till their last breath in medical category shape and bear the load of the others without remorse,” said General Rawat.