Move comes after CBI receives fresh set of documents from Italian police
The CBI on Saturday registered a case against a Brigadier of the Army Aviation Corps for allegedly fudging trial flight records of the light Utility Helicopters proposed to be procured for the Army.
The agency booked Brig VS Saini of Army Aviation Corps and unknown officers of the Army and Defence Ministry after the agency received a fresh set of documents from Italian police related to the bribery scandal involving AgustaWestland for supply of VVIP helicopters to India, official sources said here.
The case has been registered under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, including abuse of official position, and charges of forgery under the Indian Penal Code.
Brig Saini was part of the team carrying out trials of the competing helicopters in the light Utility Helicopter segment and allegedly fudged the records of the trial flight of the helicopters to favour the company for which he and other unknown officers have received hefty commission, according to the FIR.
Army Aviation Corps planned to acquire 197 of light helicopters to replace its ageing Cheetah and Chetak fleet which undertakes reconnaissance and casualty evacuation operations in forward locations and high-altitude areas like Siachen, ladakh, North Kashmir and Northeast. The acquisition process of 197 helicopters had been cancelled once in December 2007 after having been finalised.
Brig Saini’s name figured in the documents seized by the Italian prosecutors during the course of the probe there into the VVIP chopper scam. Italian investigators claimed to have found a document which mentioned that the Brigadier had allegedly demanded a bribe of five million Euros in 2010 to swing the contract in favour of AgustaWestland.
The document was recovered from middleman Guido Haschke’s mother’s residence in Italy. It mentions that Saini allegedly offered “help to eliminate the competition” just before the field trials of the light copters. However, AgustaWestland helicopter was ejected out of the race, leaving only the Russian Kamov and Eurocopter choppers in contention. Following eruption of the controversy, Defence Acquisitions Council, headed by Defence Minister AK Antony, has put the purchase of the helicopters on hold till the investigations were completed in the case.
The Army conducted an internal probe into the matter since Brig Saini was indeed the officer-in-charge of the trials for the light helicopters. The brigadier was questioned by Army and later posted to the Officers’ Training Academy. During the time of his “offer” in 2010, Saini was posted as the “Brig-Aviation” at the Udhampur-based Northern Command.