The IAF has dismissed a Wing Commander who was allegedly caught demanding a bribe of `20,000 from officials of a French defence firm Dassault at the international aerospace exhibition Aero India in Bangalore in 2011.
Wing Commander AK Thakur was dismissed after a General Court Martial found him guilty of seeking bribe from Dassault for allotting a more advantageous position for the company’s Rafale fighter jet for static display during the exhibition.
The French company’s officials informed the authorities immediately and Thakur was nabbed. The official, who complained against the Wing Commander, also appeared before the court martial. It recommended Thakur’s dismissal last year but the recommendations could not be confirmed so far as the officer had approached the Armed Forces Tribunal and courts seeking relief, officials said.
Rafale, which has now emerged as the lowest bidder for mother of all defence deals worth over `45,000 crore for procurement of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), was one of the six contenders in the hotly-contested tender process when the alleged incident took place.