Former Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, who took voluntary retirement last week after he was superseded for the post of Chief of Naval Staff, was hospitalised after suffering heart attack on Monday in Mumbai.
The 59-year-old officer was admitted to a Naval hospital and Defence Minister AK Antony and Navy chief Admiral Robin Dhowan instructed that all possible assistance should be extended to him, officials said here on Tuesday. They also said Sinha’s condition is stable and he may have to undergo a bypass surgery in near future.Miffed over getting overlooked for the top job, Sinha wrote a letter to the defence ministry on April 18 seeking justice or he should be allowed to take voluntary retirement. The government accepted his plea last week and said he will be entitled to all post-retirement benefits.
Sinha was apparently ignored by the government for the Navy chief’s post even though he was the senior most as most of 14 mishaps involving naval assets took place in Western Command including two major incidents on submarines INS Sindhuratna and INS Sindhurakshak. Officials said while the then Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi resigned owning moral responsibility for the mishaps, the government could not be seen appointing Sinha for the top job as he was the Western Command chief.
