Our man in Belgrade needs a few guns, MEA wants to know why

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21: The Ministry of External Affairs has reportedly begun an internal investigation into the activities of Shankar Kumar ...

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21: The Ministry of External Affairs has reportedly begun an internal investigation into the activities of Shankar Kumar Mathur, India’s Ambassador in Belgrade, who has bought weapons for himself and his wife in violation of norms.

Although the Ministry was aware of this one year ago, its repeated reminders to Mathur went unheard. And it’s only now, after diplomats from the Indian mission complained against Mathur, that the probe is getting under way.

Despite several attempts to contact Mathur in Belgrade, he was unavailable for comment. The MEA

spokesman declined to comment. Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Kumar Panja, when contacted in Calcutta, said he was “unaware and surprised” at the development. “This is a very serious matter, I will look into it,” he said.

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Mathur, an IFS officer of the 1966 batch, was appointed Ambassador in January 1997 after a four-year stint as Ambassador in Oslo. Incidentally, Mathur is still a Joint Secretary.

According to documents available with The Indian Express, Mathur applied to the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia for permission to buy “one pistol, one hunting carbine and one hunting rifle of any caliber of his choice.”

Interestingly, at the same time, his wife, Saroj Mathur, also applied for a similar permit to buy “one revolver of any caliber of her choice.”

The permits were granted on January 6, 1999 and were approved by one Col P D Ugarak, Assistant Commissioner, Office of the Border Police for Foreigners and Administrative Work.

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According to the permit, on March 5 last year, these weapons were sold to the Mathurs, “holding diplomatic identity card no. IN-547 and IN-548.” Sources said the Ambassador had procured these weapons without getting an approval from the Government of India. And that this sale was highly irregular. According to civil service rules, any official has to inform the Government of any acquisition of firearms within 30 days of the purchase.

Following a “tip-off” from Belgrade, said sources, the Ministry of External Affairs verified the facts and sent a team last summer to get the relevant documents back to New Delhi.

The detailed specifications for the weapons are:

* LP Zastava M-75/12 Serial No. 180417
* LK Zastava, M-70/7mm Serial No. 58636 and
* Pistol Zastava P25/6.35 CD Sr No. 2084.
* Revolver Zastava R-22/22LR-Serial No 1175
Under Customs regulations, only one firearm is allowed into the country and that, too, when the official is coming under a transfer of residence, has kept the government informed and procured a valid license for the weapon.

Sources said the Ambassador has been asked by the Ministry to explain his conduct. Recently, some officials from the Indian mission in Belgrade had also met senior officials of MEA in South Block and had complained about the Ambassador.