Modi govt debunks claims of Army commander 'removal' after Pahalgam attack as fake

New Delhi: The government's Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Wednesday debunked claims made in posts by "several pro-Pakistan social media accounts" that Indian Army's Northern Commander Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar has been 'removed' from his post after the Pahalgam attack, and said the general officer is attaining superannuation on April 30.

"The claims being made in these posts are fake," PIB Fact Check said in a post on X and also shared a collage of 'reports' shared by several such accounts, with the false claim.

There have been several misleading posts on social media amid heightened tension between New Delhi and Islamabad following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. On April 22, terrorists shot dead 26 people, mostly tourists, at a meadow in Baisaran of south Kashmir's Pahalgam.

Lt Gen Kumar had assumed charge as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Udhampur-based Northern Command of the Indian Army in February 2024.

"Several pro-Pakistan social media accounts falsely claim that Northern Commander Lt Gen Suchindra Kumar has been removed from his post after the Pahalgam incident #PIBFactCheck The claims being made in these posts are #fake," it wrote on the microblogging platform.

Lt Gen Kumar is attaining superannuation on April 30. And Lt Gen Pratik Sharma will be appointed as the new Northern Army Commander, it said.

Lt Gen Kumar had earlier served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.

The PIB had on Monday flagged that some pro-Pakistan social media accounts are falsely claiming that 'confidential documents' related to the preparedness of the Indian Army have been "leaked".

In a post on X, PIB Fact Check dubbed these documents as "fake".

PIB Fact Check in its post had said, "Pro-Pakistan social media accounts are falsely claiming that confidential documents related to the preparedness of the #IndianArmy have been leaked. #PIBFactCheck These documents are #FAKE Please avoid sharing unverified information and rely only on official sources from the Government of India for accurate information".

The Ministry of Defence on Sunday cautioned that a "misleading" message is doing the rounds on WhatsApp claiming that the government has opened a bank account seeking donations for the modernisation of the Indian Army.

In a statement, the ministry had debunked the message and urged people to "remain cautious and not fall prey to such fraudulent messages".

The PIB Fact Check had also alerted people about this "misleading" message with a post on X on Sunday.