Lieutenant General (retired) Tejinder Singh has been booked by the
Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly offering a bribe to the
then Army chief V. K. Singh on behalf of a private supplier in 2010 for
clearance of a proposal for procurement of 1,676 high mobility Tatra
vehicles. Searches were conducted at seven places in Delhi and Mumbai on
Saturday.
The CBI registered the case against him under Section 12 (abetment) of
the Prevention of Corruption Act, about six months after a preliminary
enquiry was initiated into a complaint lodged by General V.K. Singh that
he had been offered a bribe of Rs.14 crore to clear the pending
proposal.
According to CBI sources, the enquiry was converted into a formal case
after enough evidence corroborating his allegations was collated. “A
probe into the movement of related files revealed that several days
before Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singh met General V.K. Singh on September 22,
2010 and allegedly offered a bribe to secure his approval, the Army
chief had initiated an enquiry into the actual requirement of vehicles
as he suspected that the proposed number [1,676] was an inflated
figure,” said a CBI officer. The proposal for procurement on a “repeat
order” basis had been made through the Master General of Ordnance’s
Branch of the Army.
What triggered suspicion
Also in view of the recommendation for further procurements through the
“multivendor route,” the sources said, the then Army chief carefully
examined the matter. CBI investigations revealed that he sought reports
from various formations on actual requirements, “which turned out to be
much below the proposed number of vehicles to be purchased — just a few
hundreds.”
This caused suspicion in General V.K. Singh’s mind and days later, the
bribe offer was allegedly made to him. “This confirmed his suspicion and
he finally decided not to approve the proposal,” said another officer.
Vectra chairman Ravi Rishi, who was also a director in Tatra Sipox U.K.
that supplied the all-terrain vehicles to BEML for further supply to the
Army, has also been named in the case. Agency sources said he would be
examined by the CBI to ascertain his role in the alleged bribe offer.
The CBI investigations have also indicated the role of a couple of
businessmen who acted as middlemen on behalf of the supplier.
Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singh, who had filed a defamation case against the
former Army chief, was on Saturday quizzed by the CBI. He denied his
involvement in the matter. The agency conducted searches on his
premises, besides that of Vectra and its officials in Mumbai and Noida.
Mr. Rishi is an accused in another case of alleged irregularities in
supply of the all-terrain Tatra trucks to the Army through BEML.
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