The CBI has recorded statements of Defence Minister AK Antony and Prime Minister’s Advisor TKA Nair in connection with the case relating to alleged offer of bribe to the then Army chief, Gen VK Singh, by a retired Army official for clearing purchase of 600 Tatra all-terrain vehicles.
The decision to record the statements of Antony and Nair came as the CBI plans to wrap the investigation into the case that has been going on for about two years. Based on the probe so far, the agency is likely to decide soon whether a chargesheet or a closure report can be filed, official sources said.The former Army chief had alleged that lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh had offered him Rs 14-crore bribe to clear an order of over 600 Tatra trucks to be supplied by Public Sector Undertaking BEMl. Tejinder, however, has denied Singh’s allegation.
The Defence Ministry had ordered a CBI enquiry into the charges levelled by the former Army chief after which a case was registered in October 2012.The former Army chief, who is now contesting the lok Sabha polls from Ghaziabad as a BJP candidate, had said in his complaint that he had informed the Defence Minister after the purported bribe offer was made by Tejinder on September 22, 2010.Nair was questioned by CBI as the former Army chief had alleged that he was opposed to scrapping the Tatra deal, the sources said.
The audio tapes, supposed to be having a recording of the purported conversation between the former Army chief and lt Gen Singh, were of no use due to poor audio quality. Attempts to retrieve any voice through forensic means did not yield any results. The tapes were submitted to CBI by Gen Singh.The agency is also probing links between Tejinder and UK-based Tatra Sipox promoter Ravi Rishi.