I was offered a bribe of Rs. 14 crore, says Army Chief

[Tiger80]

õhe country will soon see the sutradhar of the date of birth drama The Army Chief, General V.K. Singh, has alleged that an equipment lobbyist offered him a bribe of Rs. 14 crore, which he reported to Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony. In a recent interview to The Hindu, General Singh spoke on a variety of issues, including the controversy surrounding his date of birth and the ÅÔhocking state of affairs in the Army which had allowed the Chief to be offered a bribe. The General said the lobbyist offered him the bribe in order to have a tranche of 600 sub-standard vehicles of a particular make cleared for purchase. He said the vehicles, 7,000 of which were already in use in the Army, had been sold over the years at exorbitant prices with no questions asked. He said there was no proper facility where they could be serviced and maintained and yet they continued to be sold to the Army: Å«ust imagine, one of these men had the gumption to walk up to me and tell me that if I cleared the tranche, he would give me Rs. 14 crore. He was offering a bribe to me, to the Army Chief. He told me that people had taken money before me and they will take money after me. The Army chief said the brazenness of the act shocked him out of his wits. Ū was shocked. If somebody comes and tells you, you will get so much, what can you do? He said the man had recently retired from the Army, indicating how deeply entrenched the problem was. The General said he went straight to Mr. Antony and reported the matter. Ū told him, if you think I'm a misfit, I will walk out. ôtandards have fallen Asked what had brought the Army to the state where the Chief could be offered a bribe, he said: Å°bviously somewhere our standards of probity and integrity have fallen. According to General Singh, it was because he had cracked down on corruption that he was targeted on his date of birth: Å£ut things are fast unravelling and you will soon see the hand behind the drama. You will soon see who the sutradhar of the play is. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3223758.ece

[Sachin=GOD]

The next few months are going to be very interesting. The Army Chief knows that because he dragged the Govt to the court in the age controversy, there is no chance of him getting any plush post retirement posting so he will use the remaining part of his tenure in trying to screw the Govt.

[Prakat]

The long-standing Maruti Gypsy deal is the biggest unspoken scam in the Army. Failed in the market due to it's awful fuel efficiency, the army was the only customer that could afford it because it didn't have to pay for the fuel. It's proof that in the army, "sui bhi pakdi jaati hai jahan se haathi nikal jaati hai".

[adi B]

donno what to say, maybe he`s just frustrated nd trying to defame the gov or most probably its true :haha:

[Tiger80]

The long-standing Maruti Gypsy deal is the biggest unspoken scam in the Army. Failed in the market due to it's awful fuel efficiency' date=' the army was the only customer that could afford it because it didn't have to pay for the fuel. It's proof that in the army, "sui bhi pakdi jaati hai jahan se haathi nikal jaati hai".[/quote'] The bribe was offered for British Tatra trucks ,not for Maruti Gypsy http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/no-complaints-against-tatra-trucks-defence-ministry-256258.html

[Clarke]

The long-standing Maruti Gypsy deal is the biggest unspoken scam in the Army. Failed in the market due to it's awful fuel efficiency' date=' the army was the only customer that could afford it because it didn't have to pay for the fuel. It's proof that in the army, "sui bhi pakdi jaati hai jahan se haathi nikal jaati hai".[/quote'] 4WD vehicles aren't known for their fuel efficiency. Besides, its not like the military spends a Land Cruiser's worth on it, the Gypsy was pretty affordable in its on-road form. There's no comparing the affordability of a Maruti in India. Am i missing something here ?

[Stuge]

Yesterday in lok sabha politicians were acting as if something like this can never happen.Seriously ,I'm not surprised that he was approached by someone . +++++++++++++++++++++ Got this via FB "Army chief offered Rs. 14-Crore bribe? Wow! This should be on those hoardings advertising army as a career..."

[hari504504]

The worst part is not that he was approached..but he was approached by another high ranking military officer :facepalm: .... why was the investigation so low-key ? ..the officer was still in command even after he got reported to AK Antony

[asterix]

The Army Chief does comes out clueless... Good his tenure is coming to end...

[Stuge]

Army Chief drops another bribery bomb, asks CBI to probe top Lt Gen

First, it was the offer of a Rs 14-crore bribe for the purchase of trucks that he attributed to his former colleague Lt General Tejinder Singh. Then he sent a letter to the Prime Minister on what he called were glaring gaps in the Army. Now Army Chief General V K Singh has lobbed yet another “corruption bomb,” this time in the court of the Central Bureau of Investigation. He has brought out a May 2011 letter he received from Trinamool MP Ambika Banerjee and asked the agency to probe the MP’s complaint against Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag. Lt Gen Dalbir Singh is commanding the Dimapur-based 3 Corps and is in line — after Lt General Bikram Singh — to be the Army chief. The forwarding of the MP’s letter to the CBI is set to open up another can of worms. For, the MP has made a series of allegations of “procurement scams” in the “secret” Special Frontier Force — when Lt Gen Dalbir Singh was its Inspector General — including alleged payoffs for the purchase of night-vision devices, communication systems, weapons as well as parachutes. The MP has also named Army officers, including a former Army Chief, who he has alleged received crores in kickbacks for defence procurements and amassed huge disproportionate assets. These issues, he said, have been raised by him in letters to the Government. Banerjee has also named agents who he claims dealt with these procurements. The Army chief’s latest “complaint’’ reached the CBI headquarters yesterday, barely a day after a team from the agency visited the South Block office of the Army Chief to commence the probe into the bribery charges made by him. It arrived in the form of a covering letter signed by General V K Singh, requesting the CBI for a detailed inquiry into Banerjee’s letter. The timing of the MP’s two-page letter being sent by the Chief — just under a year after it was written to the Prime Minister and Defence Minister A K Antony — is significant given the fact that General Singh is known to be opposed to the appointment of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh as one of the Army Commanders while the Ministry of Defence is backing it.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/army-chief-drops-another-bribery-bomb-asks-cbi-to-probe-top-lt-gen/929630/

[ganeshran]

He is making life miserable for the government...

[urbestfriend]

In the procurement of Tatra vehicles here are some simple points to think about… 1. The Army is the user. 2. The MOD is the buyer. 3. BEML, under the MOD is the seller. 4. The BEML purchases from abroad at Rs 40 Lakhs per vehicle. The MOD fixes the price of Rs 1.10 Cr to sell to the army. 5. How can the MOD take action on the issue raised by the COAS when the MOD itself is the user, buyer and seller. 6. The army as a user has to initiate the procurement orders; beyond that they have no role that is why Rs 14 Cr is a very very cheap price 7. The MOD is the conspirator, the colluder and the collaborator. 8. Antony should be in jail but like Manmohan Singh he will say ‘he has no idea’. 9. Kapil Sibal will say with his arrogant smirk “zero loss” as technically the funds have moved from one head of account of MOD ie. the Army to BEML both under MOD. 10. Ultimately the legal brains in the party of the day will find ways and means to transfer the loot to the party funds.

[urbestfriend]

Interesting facts about this whole deal is that a PSU (BEML) is importing these tatra trucks from Czech Republic and Slovakia, and selling them to the Indian Army after marking up the price 100%. Till 2010, these vehicles were procured without a question being asked by all the earlier Army Chiefs. Only after VKS took over he questioned the wisdom of purchasing a vehicle from BEML, that could be bought directly from eastern europe at half the price. Incidentally, the company that manufactures these trucks is owned by an NRI Ravi Rishi. More importantly these vehicles after 25 years are not indigenised and has a left hand drive while most army vehicles are right hand drive. BEML cheif (THIEF) Natarajan claims there was no request from the Army to convert the trucks to a right hand drive vehicle and they are used to driving the vehicles left handed. Only in 2010, VKS ordered a multi bid tender to indigenise the procurement of these trucks. BEML was hoping to get a last order from the Army, and offered the bribe of 14 crores to VKS to clear the procurement.

[Sachin=GOD]

Army chief names Tejinder Singh in complain to CBI

Army chief Gen VK Singh has named retired Lt Gen Tejinder Singh in his complaint to the CBI on the alleged Rs 14 crore bribe offered to him to clear tranche of nearly 600 Tatra trucks. CBI sources said Singh has assured them of providing more material about the alleged bribe offer very soon. The agency has started examining the complaint received on Friday and may question Tejinder Singh in connection with the case, they said. Sources said a call on whether to proceed with a preliminary enquiry or a regular FIR would be taken soon. Tejinder Singh has refuted the allegations. He has also filed a defamation case against the Army chief and other officers. The agency was waiting for a formal complaint from the Army chief regarding details of alleged bribe offer to initiate a formal probe into the matter referred to it by the Defence ministry. CBI officers had met him on Monday evening. The Army Chief had claimed in media interviews that an equipment lobbyist had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore, a matter which he had reported to defence minister AK Antony. The Ministry had then recommended a CBI probe into the allegation made by the Army chief. After receiving reference from the Ministry, the agency had asked it to make available a complaint from Singh besides other details such as list of witnesses and supporting documents after which it would initiate its probe in the case. Refuting all the allegations levelled against him, Tejinder Singh's counsel Anil Aggarwal and SM Pandey had told the Patiala House court these claims of Gen Singh are baseless and intended to defame him. Regarding the alleged offering of bribe, the counsel had told the court that earlier it was said that the Army chief was offered Rs 50 crore bribe but later he changed it to Rs 14 crore. Gen Singh had claimed that a lobbyist, who had "just" retired, offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore for clearing "sub-standard" vehicles and he had informed the defence minister about it. In a suo-motu statement in the Rajya Sabha, Antony had said the Army chief had told him about the bribe offer, which he heard with "shock" and asked him to take action against the person. But the Army chief did not want to pursue the matter for unknown reasons, the minister had said.

Link

[ravishingravi]

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/general-singh-is-the-worst-army-chief-so-far/244782-3.html Brajesh Mishra, one of the brilliant few ministers we have had in last decade, gives a very direct interview raising some very pertinent points. As I said, this is the worst army chief to my knowledge and he has to go.