Jammu, Apr 30: Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma Wednesday took over as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Udhampur-based Northern Army Command. He replaced Lt Gen MV Suchendra Kumar after his 15-month tenure in the office.
With an illustrious career spanning across three decades, Lt General Sharma is an infantry officer who has served in varied operational environments. He was a part of key operations such as operations Pawan, Meghdoot, Rakshak and Parakram.
Lt Gen Sharma has held key appointments, including Director General Military Operations, Military Secretary Branch. He was also the Director General of Information Warfare at the newly institutionalised Information Directorate at the Army Headquarters in New Delhi.
The Udhampur-based Northern Army Command looks after the entire gamut of operations against Pakistan and China in the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh sectors.
Even prior to his appointment, which was approved by the government on April 28, Lt Gen Kumar had travelled with Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi to Srinagar after the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people on April 22.
It may be recalled that in February last year, the outgoing General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command, Lt Gen MV Suchendra Kumar, took over from then Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, who is now the Army Chief.
Govt trashes fake news on Army Commander’s superannuation
New Delhi, Apr 30: 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”.
In a statement, the ministry had debunked the message and urged people to “remain cautious and not fall prey to such fraudulent messages”.
