The CBI, probing the alleged bribery offer to Army Chief General V.K. Singh, has now started examining details of the actual requirement of Tatra trucks in the Indian Army in 2010, as against the proposed procurement of 600 all terrain vehicles. The Army Chief in his complaint to the CBI alleged that he was offered a bribe of `14 crore by a retired officer to clear a tranche of ‘600’ Tatra vehicles. “Initial probe by the agency has revealed that the actual requirement of all terrain vehicles by different Army commands was less than what was mentioned on the Tatra file (600 trucks)”, sources said. Sources further said General V.K. Singh also told the agency on Friday that there was no urgency to procure these trucks at all. The agency officials on Friday recorded the statement of General Singh in connection with CBI’s probe related to his allegation that bribes had been offered to him for procurement of Tatra trucks in 2010. The agency sleuths have also started scrutinising call details of a retired army official, who allegedly offered a bribe of `14 crore to the Army Chief on September 22, 2010. “Initial probe by the agency has revealed that when the retired official allegedly visited General Singh’s office in South Block on September 22, 2010, file related to the Tatra trucks was already lying in his office”, sources said.
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U.S. naval chief on tour to India
Age correspondent
New Delhi, April 23
On the heels of the joint Indo-US “Malabar” naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal, US naval chief Admiral Jonathan Greenert is on a visit to India, signalling further strengthening of Indo-US defence ties. Admiral Jonathan Greenert, who is designated as the Chief of Naval Operations of the United States Navy, met Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne and Army vice-chief Lt.Gen. S.K. Singh.