Also, when, how and whr did it have an army?
The company was abolished in 1858 after the Mutiny, and the Government of India act of 1858 gave the British government the task of ruling India, while also giving the Crown the company’s possessions, army, administrative power and machinery. The company mainly managed the tea trade for the British government until the East India Stock Dividend Redemption act in 1873, which essentially dissolved the company.