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Where is the Tatra scam whistle-blower?

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Reported by Tejas Mehta,   Updated: April 04, 2012 18:40 IST -NDTV

New Delhi:   Has the whistle-blower in the Tatra truck scam gone underground fearing for his life? Since the Army Chief General VK Singh disclosed last week that he was offered 14-crores as a bribe to clear “sub-standard” trucks, a new surge of attention is being paid to the 7000 Tatra trucks that have been bought by the Army since 1986. Tatra is a Czech-manufacturer. It is owned by Vectra, a London-based company, which supplies parts to a defence-run public sector unit, BEML, based in Bangalore. The trucks are assembled at BEML and sold to the Army. Their performance and price have both been questioned by military analysts in the past, but it took General Singh’s statement about the bribe to prompt close scrutiny. A CBI inquiry is looking at how the trucks were sold in violation of rules – all defence equipment has to be bought directly from the manufacturer but Tatra trucks allegedly come to the Army via middleman.

The man who may have some answers to the many questions about Tatra trucks is SN Ashoka, a former Assistant General Manager in the Trucks Division of BEML. “Ashoka is the real whistle-blower in this scam. He worked for BEML and knows A to Z details of the scam. He feared for his life. For the past week we have not been able to get in touch with him,” says Dr Hanumanthappa, the President of the All India Federation SC/ST and Minorities Employees Welfare Association, Karnataka, who submitted a confidential report written by Mr Ashoka to Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister AK Antony and President Pratibha Patil. In August 2009, Mr Ashoka wrote a memorandum to his boss, the Chairman of BEML VRS Natarajan. Mr Ashoka enumerated various charges of corruption against the Chairman in that note. One of the allegations he raised was that Tatra trucks were being bought with the use of agents or middlemen. Mr Hanumathappa submitted the report to the Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Sonia Gandhi. But he claims that no action was taken.   “We have observed in the last few days suspicious movements around our office and home. There is an international mafia that is connected to this scam and we fear for our lives. We will seek police protection,” says Hanumathappa’s son Ananda Kumar in Bangalore.

Drdo

Tatra trucks are fine, says DRDO Chief

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Surinder Jeet (USA)
01 Apr, 2012 02:03 AM
V K Saraswat has not answered the general’s allegations. The general has said that Tatra is too expensive. DRDO has not disputed it. That Tatra is delivering the service is like saying Bofors Guns are firing. They should. Can Tatra or similar truck be bought from other suupliers? Will they give more for the same money or will they cost less. DRDO would be wise not to drag itself into lime light. As it is it is in trouble for its own scandals and poor performance. My question now is,”why did they enter the fray?. What is their interest”?

jk (delhi)
01 Apr, 2012 01:48 AM
Everybody is trying to cover their as***, DRDO is a joke, even after many decades what indeginious product has come out of their stable?, even if there is one or two, are they being mass produced and are they world class that they are being exported?. This and other public sectors are a drain on the economy. I have a feeling DRDO’s palm has been greased and money exchanged to go for these trucks.

RAhul (Delhi)
01 Apr, 2012 01:35 AM
DRDO is scinetists are just feeding on tax payers money.If we need to procure defense equipment from pverseas suppliers…Why not close down DRDO.

subhash (h.pur)
01 Apr, 2012 01:23 AM
Mr. VK Sarasvat, The strength of the elephant is not under the clot but the cost.We are paying the price of 5 elephant to get only 3 . Kickback; corruption and nazrana ,whatever you call is the issue.

aks (USA)
31 Mar, 2012 11:43 PM
EXcept one or two divisions in DRDO all others are either doing nothing or are useless for nation, the so called scientists go to office to search internet play computer games and to gossip… I have tonnes of friends in DRDO and what I am saying here is there daily routine Most of the things made by DRDO is either obselete or useless for army and airforce… therefore we have to go for an MMRCA or BARHMOS as DRDO is incapable ….even the engine for LCA has still to come …DRDO is a political agency , where people know how to make comments like our incapable , despicable politicians

dkddn2 (delhi)
31 Mar, 2012 11:35 PM
Saraswat should be ashamed of heading of an organisation that cannot create anything but rebrand the foreign products. Is he not ashamed of the fact that DRDO had not been able to identify an Indian manufacturer for these missiles ? DRDO is infact a middleman now.

Abihshek (India) replies to dkddn2
01 Apr, 2012 12:29 AM
I don’t know about now but atleast in 2005, even to sit for an interview with DRDO/ISRO, the candidate had to be among the top 3 or 5 of his class. It was dream to work for them but I couldn’t even sit for the interview. And I’m sure everybody knows what kind of people are USUALLY among the top 3, especially in India. So a majority of people who work for these organizations are rote-learners who can memorize and score in exams but are not creative. I’m now working abroad in an Aerospace company who were happy to accept me. There would be thousands like me who would be dying to work for these organizations but can’t due their stupid recruitment policies.

Arif (India)
31 Mar, 2012 11:28 PM
That shows intelligence of DRDO chief. Either he is on drugs or does not understand issue. Issue is about :(1) Bribe (2) Middleman (violation of rule) (3) When Tata and Ashok Leland can produce better trucks then why Tatra?

 

Drdo

New details emerge on Tatra truck deal

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THE HINDU

NEW DELHI, April 2, 2012

PRAVEEN SWAMI,VINAY KUMAR

CBI questions London millionaire again

Even as Central Bureau of Investigation detectives have begun questioning Ravi Rishi, the London-based millionaire businessman at the heart of the showdown between the Defence Ministry and Chief of the Army Staff V.K. Singh, fresh details have begun to emerge of the truck deal that precipitated the crisis.

Rajan Mukherjee, the general manager of West Bengal-based Ural India, has told The Hindu that General Singh — then General Officer-Commanding of the Eastern Command — had requested the firm to provide trucks for testing in 2008, after Tatra trucks sold by Mr. Rishi’s firm “miserably failed 17 Mountain for performing Quick Reaction Team and reconnaissance duties in [the] super-high altitude areas of northern Sikkim.”

“Defects”

“During the trials,” Mr. Mukherjee said in an e-mail to The Hindu, “the Tatra vehicle developed defects in engine assembly, whereas Ural’s engine performance was satisfactory even after running about 600 km at high altitude.”

Mr. Rishi owns Vectra, a conglomerate which has a controlling stake in Czech and Slovak-based specialist truck firm Tatra, which has supplied the Indian Army since 1986.

Rashi Verma, a Joint Secretary at the Defence Ministry, had said last week that the government had “never received any complaint from the armed forces” — a statement which suggests the Eastern Command either chose not to pass on its problems with the Tatra to the army headquarters in New Delhi, or that its reports were suppressed by higher authorities.

In an exclusive interview to The Hindu published on March 26, General Singh had said he was offered a Rs. 14-crore bribe, which, it emerged, was linked to an officer allegedly representing Tatra to clear a consignment of 600 trucks.

There is no information available so far if Ural India’s trucks were the sole platform tested by the Eastern Command in Northern Sikkim and if so, why. Ural is co-owned by Kolkata-based magnate J.K. Saraf, who knew Gen. Singh during his tenure as Eastern Army Commander. There is no allegation, however, of the relationship having caused improper influence to be exercised.

Mr. Mukherjee’s claims, however, stand in stark contrast to earlier statements by VRS Natarajan, the head of public-sector giant BEML, which co-manufactures Tatra trucks in India. Mr. Natarajan claimed that Ural India’s trucks had been knocked out of competition in the ongoing trials, a claim Mr. Mukherjee has denied in his e-mail to The Hindu, adding that his firm is considering “appropriate action.”

The BEML chief, however, has since been backed by Defence Research and Development Organisation chief V.K. Saraswat, who said Tatra trucks were “outstanding.” Both BEML and Tatra have said they are considering legal action against General Singh, but provided no details of their course of action.

Army sources said the problem encountered in Sikkim could have been related to the Tatra truck’s engine, which is designed for rugged battlefield use, compromising high-altitude performance in return for lower risks of breakdown.

CBI officials refused comment on the issues they had discussed with Mr. Rishi, but the businessman has been barred from leaving India until further notice.

He was earlier questioned by the agency officials last week, soon after the CBI registered an FIR in the case. CBI officials were also poring over and analysing a number of documents seized during raids in Delhi, Noida and Bangalore.

Apart from Mr. Rishi, the FIR refers to unknown officials of BEML, Vectra and the Army. The case was registered under provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating to criminal conspiracy to cheat and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The investigators are tasked with looking into all purchases of Tatra trucks made from 1997, when Vectra took control of Tatra. Since 1986, the Army has purchased some 7,000 Tatra trucks to transport troops and artillery.