New Delhi, Nov. 16: A quiet investigation by the army into an alleged land grab in north Bengal is snowballing with three top generals being asked to depose at the Eastern Command headquarters in Fort William, Calcutta.

The inquiry could also singe the state government, which owned the tract of about 70 acres which was transferred to a private body that claimed it was spending a whopping Rs 295 crore to build a school.

Indeed, land is now such an emotive and political issue in Bengal that even the army formations are not left untouched. The latest to be summoned as a witness in the inquiry is the military secretary at Army Headquarters, Lieutenant General Avadhesh Prakash.

The military secretary is one of the six principal staff officers to the chief of army staff and in charge of all personnel matters, transfers and postings.

The investigation began after Mayo College, the public school in Ajmer, complained to the army that a private body, the Dilip Agarwal Geetanjali Educational Trust, was wrongfully claiming to be its affiliate.

The Trust had sought a no-objection certificate from the army because the land on which it intended to build the Rs 295-crore school was adjacent to the 33 (Trishakti) Co-rps cantonment at Sukna, in Darjeeling district.

When the Trust had first sought permission about three years ago, it was turned down. But a preliminary inquiry within the army has revealed that a permission was granted to it later when Lt Gen P.K. Rath took over as the commander of the corps headquarters.

General Rath has been asked to stay put (“attached”) in the Eastern Command headquarters in Calcutta pending the investigation. His appointment as deputy chief of army staff has been put on hold.

Rath’s predecessor as the Trishakti corps commander, Lt Gen Ramesh Halgalli, who is now the commander of the army’s Jalandhar-headquartered 11 Corps, has also been summoned as a witness.

The three-member court of inquiry in Calcutta is headed by the commander of the Tezpur-based 4 (Gajraj) Corps, Lt Gen K.T. Parnaik.

The court will submit its report to the eastern army commander, Lt Gen V.K. Singh, who is next-in-line to be the army chief.

“This is a court of inquiry to take accounts of witnesses to examine if there have been procedural lapses,” an army headquarters source said. “It is not directed against anyone. Only if the court of inquiry finds enough reason will it recommend that evidence be recorded.”

“It is important to remember that the land did not belong to the army but its permission was required because it is adjacent to our cantonment,” the officer added.

Now, with the military secretary being summoned, the Eastern Command has its hands full.

Avadhesh Prakash had served under the 33 corps as a divisional commander in Gangtok four years ago. The military secretary will also be deposing in a court of inquiry headed by Lt Gen Parnaik who was his successor as the commandant of the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan.