Appropriate action if secret service funds misused: Tewari

Reports of misuse of secret service funds by former Indian Army chief, Gen. V.K. Singh, are "under the active consideration of the government" and appropriate action would be initiated against the guilty, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said Friday.

"These (newspaper reports) are under the active consideration of the government," Tewari told reporters here.

"If at all any maleficence is found against any serving or retired officers, appropriate action would be initiated by the government," he said.

According to report published in a newspaper, Gen. Singh allegedly misused the secret funds to destabilise the Jammu and Kashmir government and to pay off an NGO to try and change the line of succession in the army top brass, among others.

The ministry of defence said it has received a report from the army headquarters on certain issues relating to one of its outfits as reported by a section of the media Friday.

"The report impinges on matters of national security and, as such, the government will take a decision and further actions after a careful examination of the report," the ministry said in a statement.

It further said the government has in place measures to prevent any such undesirable activities.

The defence ministry clarified that no decision has been taken for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry in the matter.

The media report was based on a secret Board of Officers inquiry report into the functioning of the Technical Services Division (TSD) under the Corps of Military Intelligence.

The report had called for bringing TDS under the CBI scanner.