Army Chief bribe: Tatra controversy,role of ex-DIA chief resurface in latest allegations

Gen. Singh has indicated that the vehicles were sub-standard

The Army has been using the all-terrain Tatra vehicles for transporting personnel,tanks and missiles for over a decade but Gen. V K Singh is understood to have been opposed to approving the continuation of the 2010 deal signed by his predecessor for 788 more vehicles. Why?

Gen. Singh has indicated that the vehicles were sub-standard,their cost exorbitant,and that a retired general had offered him a Rs 14 crore bribe to sign the file.

Only weeks ago,the Army had taken the unprecedented step of naming its former Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) chief,Lt Gen. Tejinder Singh,as the source for several stories appearing in the media and,in the same statement,alleged that the officer had offered a bribe on behalf of Tatra and its sister concern,Vectra.

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Tejinder Singh had responded to the first allegation by sending legal notices to the Army Chief and other top officials. Today,he told The Indian Express that the legal process has already been set in motion by me and will unfold in the next few days.

Sources close to Tejinder Singh said the former DIA chief had on an earlier occasion sensitized Gen. Singh about rumours that he was opposed to the Tatra deal because he was in favour of junking the East European firm for a collaboration with Ural-India,a recent Indo-Russian joint venture based in West Bengal.

The controversy has demonstrated the lack of transparency on the Tatra project the first agreement was signed in 1986 and the failure of the firms Indian partner,the public sector BEML,to keep to the indigenisation schedule.

The Tatra-Vectra-BEML collaboration has been in controversy for several reasons. The holding pattern and ownership of the Czech vehicle manufacturer has changed frequently,leading to allegations that the BEML deal was in violation of defence procurement guidelines that forbid purchase from any company that is not an original equipment manufacturer.

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This is because the vehicle deal was first signed between BEML and Tatra Sipox (UK) and it was only later that Vectra and its owner,an NRI called Ravinder Kumar Rishi,came into the picture with BEML signing a collaboration with Tatra Vectra Motors,a joint venture between Tatra a.s. and the Vectra Group.

The manager listed nine specific allegations of bribery,lack of transparency and siphoning of funds in the Tatra deal. BEML defended the deal saying it had been dealing with a fully-owned subsidiary of Tatra Sipox,and that it had (in 2005) achieved 44% indigenisation.