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CBI takes Tatra trucks probe to foreign shores

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Neeraj Chauhan, TNN | Apr 26, 2012, 02.43AM IST

NEW DELHI: The CBI’s probe into the Tatra scam is spreading internationally, with the agency finding clues of a far more sophisticated web of money transfers than what was presumed until now. The agency is set to issue Letter Rogatories (LRs) to Hong Kong and Singapore, where it believes NRI businessman Ravi Rishi, the key figure behind Tatra trucks’ supply to the Indian Army, had complex financial operations, and some of which could be linked to the Tatra contract.

Army chief General V K Singh in his statement to the CBI had claimed that he was offered Rs 14 crore by Lt Gen Tejinder Singh on behalf of Rishi, and he was told that officers before him have collected similar bribes. It is possible, sources admit, that Rishi could have been transferring money across secretive tax havens to pay off some of his Indian contacts. CBI has already issued LRs to Czech Republic, Slovakia, the UK and Liechtenstein, seeking details of Rishi’s companies and trusts. Sources said Rishi has been operating companies in both Hong Kong and Singapore for the past several years, and may have been transferring money from these countries to tax havens and other destinations.

ToI has already reported that he operated at least one trust in Liechtenstein since 1986, and this trust had been controlling at least one of his Hong Kong firms.

Besides, the CBI has established that the “supply of Tatra trucks to the Army was very irregular since 1997” and that “indigenization process of the Tatra was very slow”, said sources, indicating that the noose may be tightening around some BEML officials.

According to sources, BEML chief V R S Natarajan failed to give satisfactory response on both the counts during his questioning by the CBI. On Wednesday, BEML’s director (finance), J B Diwale, was questioned for several hours. The CBI is now certain, based on documents from the UK, that Tatra Sipox was just an “agent” for the manufacturing company. Indian military procurement rules do not permit dealings with agents.

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Background check on Tejinder by CBI

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Neeraj Chauhan, TNN | Apr 25, 2012, 05.15AM IST

NEW DELHI: Probing the Tatra trucks procurement scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation is carrying out a background check on Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh as it prepares to question him later this week. The agency, sources said, has asked the defence ministry to provide all details related to Lt Gen Singh – files, his meetings and people who frequently met him. Sources said the agency was trying to establish Vectra chief Ravi Rishi’s link with Lt Gen Singh.

“To establish the bribery offer, we have to find out Lt Gen Tejinder Singh’s link with Vectra group. We will check files of MoD to know about people who visited him and documents signed by him when he was serving in the Army,” a top CBI officer said. The agency is also expected to convert the preliminary enquiry into the alleged bribery offer to Army chief General V K Singh into a regular case soon.

The agency has, meanwhile, collected around 64 files from Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) to probe the Tatra scam. These files have details of proposals, tenders papers, technical examination documents, suppliers, supply orders and payments related to procurement of Tatra trucks since 1997 in the Indian Army. To understand these documents, two colonel rank officers are helping the CBI in the probe.

The agency is also looking at the “quid pro quo” angle in the Tatra procurement deal. It is probing whether somebody in the defence ministry or Army benefitted all these years for making sure that Tatra trucks were procured by BEML through Tatra Sipox (UK) only.

Meanwhile, the CBI on Tuesday again questioned Vectra executive Anil Mansaramani at its headquarters while another Vectra employee was quizzed in Mumbai. The Vectra employees are being confronted with several documents picked up from the defence ministry and BEML.

The Army chief has provided several documents to the agency and has assured that he would give more evidence. Gen Singh had claimed that Lt Gen Tejinder Singh had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore in his office on September 22, 2010 for clearing a tranche of sub-standard Tatra trucks. The agency has recorded the chief’s statement.

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Lt Gen Tejinder visited Army chief on Sept 22: Register

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Neeraj Chauhan, TNN Apr 23, 2012, 02.49AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing Army chief General V K Singh’s claim that he was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe by Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh, has found that the “visitor’s register” of South Block has an entry showing that Lt Gen Tejinder Singh had visited the Army chief’s office on September 22, 2010.

The visitor’s entry in the register, which was taken by the CBI on Friday from South Block, has been signed by Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh and it mentions “official to meet” as Gen V K Singh.
A senior CBI officer said this was a “major evidence” to show that Lt Gen Tejinder Singh was in the Army chief’s office that day but what transpired inside the room, the alleged bribery offer, is yet to be proved. The Army chief assured CBI officials in his meeting on Friday that he would provide more evidence soon.

A CBI team had recorded Gen V K Singh’s statement in two rounds on Friday and picked up the ‘visitor’s register’. Apart from the register, the agency has also collected several documents provided by the Army chief, which reportedly include documents related to the Tatra deal and communications between the defence ministry and BEML.

Gen V K Singh had earlier this month given a written complaint to the CBI alleging that Lt Gen Tejinder Singh had come to his office on September 22, 2010 and had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore on behalf of Vectra group chairman Ravi Rishi to clear a deal of sub-standard Tatra trucks for the Indian Army. Sources said on that day, Gen V K Singh had asked his staff to “escort him (Lt Gen Tejinder Singh) out of his office” and reportedly asked Lt Gen Tejinder Singh “not to come again”.

Refuting the allegations, Lt Gen Tejinder Singh claimed in an interview that “he used to meet Gen V K Singh frequently for professional work and that he had gone to his (Gen V K Singh’s) office in September 2010 for some personal work”. He has also filed a defamation suit against the Army chief.

The agency is probing a preliminary enquiry into the alleged bribery offer and is expected to convert it into a regular case soon. Agency sources said they might question Lt Gen Tejinder Singh next week.

The agency has also collected some evidence in its probe in the Tatra procurement scam. Gen V K Singh too has provided important documents to the agency. The CBI has already approached Interpol to get details of companies related to Ravi Rishi in at least four countries- Czech Republic, Slovakia, UK and Liechtenstein.

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Did Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh have a mole in Gen VK singh’s office?

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Neeraj Chauhan, TNN | Apr 24, 2012, 01.36AM IST

NEW DELHI: Army chief General V K Singh has told CBI officials that the day Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh came to visit him in his South Block office (September 22, 2010) and made a bribery offer of Rs 14 crore, the file relating to purchase of Tatra trucks was lying on his table.

Sources said the agency is probing the likelihood of some “black sheep” in Army Headquarters or the Army chief’s office tipping off Lt Gen Tejinder Singh that the Tatra file was awaiting Gen Singh’s clearance and whether that prompted the retired lieutenant general to pay the chief a visit.

The CBI, which is likely to question Lt Gen Singh this week, is also poring over his call records to ascertain if someone called him on that day to inform him about the Tatra file. Agency sources said the call records would also prove if Lt Gen Singh was in touch with Vectra chief Ravi Rishi either before or after his meeting with the Army chief.

Gen Singh has also told CBI officials that when he saw the number of trucks to be procured mentioned on the Tatra file, he called up all his commands to know about their requirement and “the requirement of Army commands was way less than what was mentioned on the file”. CBI sources believe a section in the Army Headquarters which was lobbying for Tatra trucks could have facilitated the file’s movement up to the chief’s office.

After seeing such a large number of Tatra trucks mentioned in the file, the Army chief had cancelled the deal, sources said. CBI officials refused to give details of the requirement mentioned on the file. “The number of trucks required mentioned on file were much higher than the actual requirement by all the commands of the Army,” said a top source.

These facts were given by Gen Singh to a CBI team on Friday when it recorded his statement. The agency has already found the record of Lt Gen Tejinder Singh’s visit on that day from the visitor’s register. The Army chief has also provided several documents, which suggest that Tatra trucks were wrongly favoured.

The Army chief has assured CBI of providing more evidence soon.

In another development, after fresh revelations of Rishi and his family members being the beneficiaries of Hemang Foundation, a trust based in Liechtenstein which fully controls Tatra Sipox (UK), the CBI on Monday again questioned Rishi at its headquarters. The agency also quizzed Vectra group executive Anil Mansaramani.

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‘Tainted’ IAS couple linked to Ravi Rishi in Tatra scam?

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TNN | Apr 22, 2012, 01.53AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Tatra scam is examining a connection between Madhya Pradesh IAS couple Arvind Joshi and Tinoo Joshi, who are facing graft charges, and London-based businessman Ravi Rishi.

The CBI is looking at Rishi’s Vectra Group acquiring maximum shares in Greater Noida’s Indian Exposition Mart Limited (IEML) at the time when Tinoo Joshi was posted as Development Commissioner Handicrafts in the ministry of textiles.

Sources said the agency is scrutinizing the bank accounts of the IAS couple, who were suspended by the MP government after the Income Tax department recovered more than Rs 3 crore cash during a raid at their house in February, 2010.

CBI is examining transaction details of 70 bank accounts of the suspended IAS couple and an official said “All entries in their accounts and related transaction details are being looked at. We may question the IAS couple in this regard”.

“Acquisition of majority shares in IEML by the Vectra Group is under the scanner. There are allegations that role of Joshi was crucial role in this acquisition,” said the source. The agency recently conducted raids at IEML in Greater Noida and have recovered certain documents in this regard.

The agency is investigating Rishi, a majority stakeholder in Tatra Sipox (UK), for alleged irregularities in the purchase of more than 6,000 Tatra trucks after Army chief Gen V K Singh claimed that he was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe on behalf of the businessman. The CBI is also taking assistance of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax department in this regard.

The CBI may also soon question Rishi again after having already sought assistance of the Interpol to get details about certain companies – allegedly associated with the NRI businessman – that are based in Slovakia, Czech Republic, the UK and Liechtenstein.

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Skeletons tumble out of Tatra-tainted Natarajan’s closet

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FRIDAY, 20 APRIL 2012 00:16 PNS | NEW DELHI HITS: 263 – The Pioneer

Under VRS Natarajan, PSU giant BEML was involved in large scale irregularities that went beyond Tatra truck deal. The CBI on Thursday registered an FIR against him for cheating and criminal conspiracy in hiring a consultancy firm without tendering process.

The noose is fast tightening around Natarajan, who has been Chairman and Managing Director of defence PSU BEML for almost a decade, with the CBI set to more cases following sanction for prosecution granted by the Defence Ministry.

At least six complaints of alleged financial misdemeanour by Natarajan is under CBI scanner.

After registering a case against Natarajan and Director of Coimbatore-based Astral Consultants CS Srivatsan for allegedly tweaking tenders to favour the private firm by cheating BEML, the CBI conducted searches at the official and residential premises of the duo at Bangalore and Coimbatore.

Natarajan, Srivatsan and other unnamed persons have been booked under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and certain provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The case related to award of contract for the implementation of Enterprises Resource Planning Project in the public sector undertaking during 2004-09.

According to the CBI FIR, Natarajan and Srivatsan were part of alleged criminal conspiracy to award work worth Rs40 crore to Astral Consultants.

“It is alleged that the accused persons were parties to a criminal conspiracy entered amongst themselves at Bangalore and other places during 2004-09 to cheat M/s BEML in the matter of award of different works relating to the implementation of Enterprises Resource Planning Project in M/s BEML causing wrongful loss to M/s BEML and wrongful gain to others,” a CBI spokesperson said here.

Teams of CBI officials reached the Bangalore-residence of Natarajan, residence of Srivatsan, besides Coimbatore office of Astral and took into their possession some “incriminating” documents related to the tendering process and communications exchanged with the company, CBI sources said.

Natarajan is already facing CBI heat for his suspected role in a separate case regarding alleged irregularities in the procurement and supply of Tatra all terrain vehicles to Army. Natarajan has not been named so far in the Tatra procurement scandal case but the agency suspects that he was the mastermind of the entire scam.

The agency suspects that Natarajan in collusion with Vectra boss Ravi Rishi renewed the deal between BEML and UK-based Tatra Sipox in 2003, four years before the same was to be renewed, for supply of the all terrain vehicles to the Army. Tatra Sipox, according to the CBI FIR, was an intermediary firm and not an original equipment manufacturer. The original manufacturer of the Tatra trucks is Tatra Venus and defence procurement rules provide for procurement from OEMs only.

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Tatra scam: Kovai firm raided

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Tamil Nadu | Posted on Apr 20, 2012 at 09:51am IST IBN Live

COIMBATORE: CBI sleuths on Thursday raided the premises of an IT company in the city over alleged irregularities in the contracts awarded to it by the state-owned Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML).
It may be noted that BEML chairman and managing director V R S Natarajan was recently interrogated by the CBI in connection with the procurement of below-par Tatra trucks for the Army. The Bangalore-based BEML was involved in the assembling the trucks, after the parts were procured from Czech truck manufacturer, Tatra. These trucks were later sold to the Army.
The premises of Coimbatore-based Astral Consulting Limited and the residence of the company’s director, C S Srivatsan, were raided, the CBI said in a release issued on Thursday.
The agency also conducted simultaneous raids at the office and residences of Natarajan in Bangalore. Thursday’s raids were meant to probe the various contracts awarded to Astral Consulting for implementation of the Enterprises Resource Planning Project of the BMEL.
The CBI also registered a case against Natarajan and Srivatsan under the Prevention of Corruption Act. “It is alleged that the accused persons were parties to a criminal conspiracy entered amongst themselves at Bangalore and other places during 2004-09 to cheat M/s BEML in the matter of award of different works relating to the implementation of Enterprises Resource Planning Project in M/s BEML, causing wrongful loss to M/s BEML and wrongful gain to others,” the CBI said.
It has its registered head office on North Huzur Road and a branch at Krishnaswamy Nagar, Ramanathapuram. Since the contracts were awarded to the company at highly inflated rates by BEML, the PSU suffered a wrongful loss of `40.67 crore.

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Agni V ballistic missile test successful

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Congratulations – Agni – 5 Team

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Agni V ballistic missile test successful – Times of India
19 Apr 2012, 0839 hrs IST, AGENCIES
India on Thursday (April 19) conducted the maiden test of it’s indigenously developed nuclear capable “Agni V” ballistic missile with a strike range of over 5,000 km, from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast near Dhamara, Orissa. The three stage, solid propellant missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher from the launch complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at about 0805 hours, defence sources said.

Soon after the maiden launch took place, Agni V witnessed a smooth and perfect vertical lift-off from the launcher and analysis was done to assess its health parameters after retrieval of date from all the sophisticated wide range of communication network systems, they said. The test-fire of the first of its kind missile, which was originally scheduled for yesterday, had to be postponed at the last moment due to bad weather marked by rains and heavy lightning, the sources said.

The trial of Agni V, considered to be of the category of Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), demonstrates giant strides taken by India in its integrated missile development programme. Only the United States, Russia, France and China possess the capability to operate an ICBM at present. “The sleek missile, within a few seconds of its blast-off from the Island launch pad roared majestically into the sky leaving behind it’s trajectory, a trail of thin orange and white smoke before disappearing,” said an eyewitness to the launch, conducted amid light drizzle.

The surface-to-surface Agni V is capable of striking a target more than 5,000 km away. It is about 17 meter long and two metre wide with launch weight of around 50 tonnes. The sophisticated missile can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one tonne. After achieving successful results from the first development trial of Agni IV, which has a strike range of more than 3,500 km, from the same launch pad on November 15, 2011, preparation for Agni V test had gathered momentum.

Scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) associated with this project were busy for a couple of years to test launch the new missile in a possible suitable time. Unlike other missiles of indigenously built Agni series, the latest one- Agni V- is the most advanced version having several new technologies incorporated in it in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine.

India has at present in its armoury of Agni series, Agni 1 with 700 km range, Agni 2 with 2,000 km range, Agni 3 and Agni 4, with 2,500 km to more than 3,500 km range. Today’s trial was aimed at putting India into an exclusive club of nations possessing such long-range ballistic missile technologies. DRDO Chief V K Saraswat had recently said the missile was being integrated at various facilities for the test launch.

The maiden test-fire was witnessed by military officials, scientists and other agencies which participated in its development. DRDO plans to conduct more such tests of the missile over the next one year after studying and analysing the parameters achieved in each subsequent trial. On the timeline fixed for fully developing Agni V, Saraswat had said another year of testing would be involved.

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Tatra deal: CBI raids houses of two retired Army officers

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Neeraj Chauhan, TNN | Apr 19, 2012, 03.55AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation raided residences of two retired Army officers in connection with the Tatra-Vectra deal while investigators are also pursuing leads pointing to a nexus between Vectra head Ravi Rishi and the top brass of Indian public sector firm BEML.

The CBI on Wednesday carried out raids at the residences of Brigadier (retd) P C Das in Vasant Kunj and Colonel (retd) Anil Dutta in Noida. Das was also questioned at the CBI headquarters while the residence of a Vectra executive Anil Mansaramani at Noida was also searched.

CBI sources said they suspect Das and Dutta as having worked as conduits for Vectra head Rishi who is a London-based businessman. The agency feels that the two retired officers were liasioning for Vectra that is a crucial link in supply of Tatra trucks to the Army that is now under a graft cloud.

CBI hopes to make more progress when Army chief Gen V K Singh meets investigators after April 19 and his statement is recorded. The chief had set the cat among the pigeons by alleging that he was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe for the “underperforming” vehicles.

The agency questioned BEML chairman V R S Natarajan for almost six hours on Wednesday and sources said the probe was at a delicate stage as definite leads have emerged regarding BEML and Rishi in the Tatra trucks procurement process.

CBI reportedly asked Natarajan if he tried to verify, when BEML signed a contract with Tatra Sipox (UK), if any of the parts for making Tatra trucks were available with another company in India, said sources. Natarajan was also asked if BEML tried to find out the nature of Tatra Sipox (UK) contracts with other countries on supplies.

Natarajan and Rishi have refuted the allegations of any wrong doing.

Vectra, which has controlling stake in Tatra Sipox UK, and is at the centre of CBI investigations into alleged irregularities in the supply of all terrain vehicle components to the public sector BEML which assembles and supplies these vehicles to the Army. Along with Natarajan, Rishi was questioned for the ninth time on Wednesday.

It was in the light of information provided by Natarajan and Rishi, the agency found it necessary to search residences of the retired Army officials and the Vectra employee to try and gather documents that could help the agency. sources said. The CBI is looking for a link between Lt Gen (Retd) Tejinder Singh – who the army chief claims offered him a bribe — with Rishi through the two retired army officers.

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Blunders, bungling in NTRO, says SC

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Indian Express

Krishnadas Rajagopal : New Delhi, Tue Apr 17 2012, 00:50 hrs

The Supreme Court used terms like “blunders committed” and “bungling up” to describe the goings-on in the the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), the government’s ultra-secretive technical intelligence wing under the court’s scanner following allegations of corruption and financial irregularities.
A Bench of Justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad said in ab open court on Monday that the government has filed its third and latest status report. The hearing was based on a PIL filed by V K Mittal, a scientist who had pioneered the formation of the NTRO but later pulled out after being “disgusted” by the agency’s functioning.

Referring to the status report filed in a sealed cover by Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval, the SC informed Mittal’s lawyer, Jayant Bhushan, that “some progress has been made and they are seriously considering some inquiries and even termination of some officers after consulting the Prime Minister’s Office”.

“So far three reports have been filed. These reports go into the affairs of the NTRO… they have pointed blunders committed by these people and where they have committed the blunders. Steps are being taken, they say, and amounts lost should be adjusted,” the Bench observed.

“We will give them time till July 30. If by that time they don’t comply, we will make them comply. On July 30, we will give the matter a final look. Further hearing is not required. There has been bungling,” the court said.

The court had decided to keep an eye on the NTRO after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) exposed the alleged irregularities involving top NTRO bosses in a special audit report tagged “top secret”.

The apex court had issued notices to the Union of India through the Prime Minister’s Office, Central Vigilance Commission, NTRO through its chairman, and the CAG in August 2011.

Created in 2004 under the Prime Minister’s Office, the NTRO essentially deals with missile monitoring, satellite and airborne imagery, cyber patrolling and security, cyber offensive operations, communication support systems, as well as cryptology.

Mittal had approached the SC after the Delhi High Court on April 16, 2011 refused to take any action, leaving it to the CAG “to proceed in accordance with law”. In his petition, Mittal submitted that mere disciplinary proceedings against the errant officers of NTRO was not enough as the “misdeeds of those officers warrant initiation of criminal proceedings”.

Appeal to clean DRDO of corrupt and anti-national officials