The recent incident of CSD items finding its way in local shops through the Sainik School Imphal employees is a reminder of the racket involving liquor and other items meant for defence personnel in the market. It is also a reality in Imphal and Manipur also. While CSD liquor flows through the illegal liquor shops the other items including attractive consumer brands would be seen openly displayed in many of the shops. Well the profit margin is very high. A retired Major General Chander Nandwani wrote a beautiful article entitled “Who Else is the Beneficiary of CSD Liquor?” a few months back and it was widely published. The general was speaking from his experiences when he was posted as Additional Director General of Supplies & Transport in Army Headquarters in 1995. He was also holding additional charge of managing Army Headquarters (AHQ) canteen, as its Chairman. He practically ran into a wall when he tried to revamp the operational system by invalidating old cards through issue of new cards after due verification of the card holders and computerization. Canteen employees went on strike and all kinds of wild allegations were leveled against him. The allegations made against him included taking of a big bribe for purchase of new computers, favoring purchase of specific liquor brands, coercing women employees for sexual favors etc. However, investigations revealed that a perfect nexus existed between the canteen civilian staff union leader, a few officials of Ministry of Defence and a large number of politicians. The union leader had in his custody hundreds of old liquor cards of servicemen and/or ex-servicemen who had either left the station or had died. He drew the choicest brands of liquor from the canteen in the names of these personnel and had simultaneously perfected a distribution system through which the liquor was delivered right at the doorsteps of the selected Ministry officials and several politicians apart from other influential clients in the ministry. In yet another recent scandal, an army brigadier was recently arrested by CBI in connection with a corruption racket involving employees of the canteen stores department (CSD) of the defence ministry and a private company. These are but two incidents which have come to public notice and it is only the tip of the iceberg. Scores of women have been roaming around with CSD items ranging from cosmetics to toiletries of major brands and supplying them to the local shops and pan dukans. The word in the grapevine is that, these items originate from either Leimakhong or Mantripukhri where two important security formations have their headquarters. And they are in demand, as there is room for bargaining for the gullible consumers. Many of the consumers could not even guess that CSD items come at a cheaper rate or that these items were meant for defence personnel only. Selling it to the general public is an offence. IFP’s exposure of the CSD ration racket at the prestigious Sainik School Imphal needs to be followed up with investigations by defence authorities so as to reveal the truth and book the culprits. Considering the use of the official school van in such an illegal activity speaks volumes on the level of involvement. Cheating the ration meant for the cadets of the school is a crime. While it should also be investigated by appropriate authorities, one needs to keep in mind the entire gamut of CSD operations in the state. There is no harm in a few members of the public going to the CSD canteens for buying certain items as they are definitely cheaper. But when the said items are on open sale in the shops and pan dukans, a major investigation has to follow to find out the truth about the network.
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