BEML probe scope widened
Sources said Natarajan was suspended last week after the CBI, which is going into several cases, including the allegations of bribery in the Tatra truck deal, had suggested such a course of action to ensure a "free and fair probe". They said the Government was keen on taking action against anyone involved in these shady deals-- be it Directors of the company, officials, 'insiders and outsiders', army personnel and even politicians.
Sources made it clear that the probe was not just about the bribes in the Tatra deals but various other cases of alleged wrongdoings. The issue had come to fore after former Army Chief Gen V K Singh alleged that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by a retired officer to clear a deal for procuring 600 Tatra trucks for the army. Soon after the former Army Chief levelled these allegations, Defence Minister A K Antony ordered a CBI probe to investigate the charges.
The
CBI
has
also
been
accorded
sanction
by
the
Defence
Ministry
to
probe
Natarajan's
alleged
role
in
irregularities
linked
to
supply
of
Tatra
trucks
to
the
Indian
army
after
2003.
Such
a
sanction
is
required
in
cases
when
the
suspect
is
a
bureaucrat
of
or
above
the
rank
of
a
joint
secretary.
The
Ministry
had
given
sanction
to
the
CBI
to
probe
another
case
related
to
the
defence
PSU
in
February
this
year
about
allegations
of
wrongdoings
in
the
sale
and
purchase
of
these
Tatra
trucks.
The agency is also probing into alleged irregularities in assigning of supply from Czech Republic-based Tatra, with which the agreement was originally signed in 1986, to the Tatra Sipox UK owned by Ravi Rishi in 1997, showing it as Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and the fully-owned subsidiary of the Czech company. On June 6, the Defence Ministry had sought an explanation from BEML chief VRS Natarajan for serving a legal notice on former Army chief Gen V K Singh demanding an apology for his alleged defamatory statements against the defence PSU on the Tatra truck issue.
In 2005 also, there were allegations that Tatra family of trucks were being procured from an agent and not directly from OEM and that BEML was at best an assembler of such vehicles without absorbing technology. In the wake of these allegations, the Defence Ministry had gone into the matter and apparently found that there was nothing wrong in procuring components from the intermediary company.
PTI