CBI
19 April 2012. Army chief General V. K. Singh’s allegation that connection between retired army officers and arms’ suppliers was influencing defence deals received more credence on Wednesday when Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) teams raided the premises of two former army men. One of them was brought to CBI headquarters for questioning.
The houses of Brig (retd) P. C. Das and Col (retd) Anil Datta were raided. The residence of Anil Mansharamani, who worked for Tatra Sipox in India, was also stormed. Das was questioned at the CBI headquarters.
One CBI official said “Evidence has emerged against some people and we are strengthening our case against them.” According to the same official General Singh has given the CBI an appointment and his statement to the agency could be significant.
VRS Natarajan, chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of the public sector Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) which has been purchasing Tatra trucks in parts from Tatra Sipox, was questioned again on Wednesday for seven hours.
One of the complaints against Natarajan is that he ‘fudged accounts’ and ‘inflated’ figures to get ‘Navratna status’ for BEML. Navratna status is given to a Public Sector Unit depending on its turnover. Such a firm enjoys financial and administrative autonomy.
Here is a NDTV video on YouTube.
