New Delhi, Nov. 19: A sacked army brigadier today alleged he was victimised for blowing the whistle on deals struck by senior officers who made money by ordering inferior quality equipment for the fence along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

R.P. Singh, referred to as the “Booze Brigadier” since he was court-martialled and cashiered last year, said he and his family have been the target of two officers of the rank of general, one of whom retired as the director-general of military intelligence and the other from an even higher office.

Singh was charged with selling in the open market liquor from the service’s canteen stores department. He was also “cashiered”, meaning he is no longer entitled to his rank or retirement benefits.

In December last year, the army sacked Singh and sentenced him to nine months’ rigorous imprisonment. Singh and his lawyer today said a formal appeal had been sent to the government through the defence secretary.

Singh’s allegations are too grave to be ignored. He claimed that the wire fence 100 to 150 metres inside Indian territory was built at a cost of about Rs 2,000 crore and the army chief and his office had “misled” the government and the public when they said the fence would stop infiltration.

It is a fact that the fence has been damaged considerably this year. Heavy snowfall brought it down and the army reported substantial infiltration from the Gurez sector in north Kashmir. Last month, the earthquake also damaged the fence.

Singh alleged there was pressure on army engineers to hasten the erection of the fence and orders for cheap equipment were placed in a hurry. He called it “a scam”.