Reports on troop movement 'absolutely stupid': Army Chief

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Army Chief Gen. V. K. Singh on Thursday dismissed as 'absolutely stupid' a report that the Indian government panicked for several hours in the face of unexplained troop movements near Delhi in January.

"This is absolutely stupid," Singh said when asked to comment on the report. The report in Indian Express that said the government was 'spooked' on the night of January 16-17, because of the movement of a mechanised infantry battallion from Haryana's Hisar and a sizeable section of 50 Para Brigade created a storm in the government.

In New Delhi on Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the defence establishment dismissed as 'alarmist' and 'absolutely baseless'.

The Army Chief is in Nepal to attend the three-day Regional Seminar on Natural Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance.