Indian Military Trucks

[Kunal Biswas]

"Whatever he has spoken is 100% true," said Col R S N Singh, a sympathizer of the Army chief.

Bribe offer taped, more proof soon, warn Army chief's friends - The Times of India

I like they way they talk..

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

Now then scam after scam is being reported and this time it is MMRCA and the officials in the procurement committee are asking that how did the government decide that the RAFALE is cheaper than its counterparts and how did the calculation of the sum took place and how did they decide that it was 10,000 crores cheaper than others. Here is the news from times now.


India's biggest defence deal in jeopardy?

Sources have told TIMES NOW that certain senior officials in the Ministry of Defence have raised reservations over the Rafale fighter jet deal. Few officials have expressed reservations about the Rs 80,000 crore deal. A bid procedure was followed in awarding the contract to Rafale, a procedure questioned by officials.

India's biggest defence deal in jeopardy?-News-Exclusives-TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos

 

[Anshu Attri]

Army Chief drops another bribery bomb, asks CBI to probe top Lt Gen
Army Chief drops another bribery bomb, asks CBI to probe top Lt Gen - Indian Express

First, it was the offer of a Rs 14-crore bribe for the purchase of trucks that he attributed to his former colleague Lt General Tejinder Singh. Then he sent a letter to the Prime Minister on what he called were glaring gaps in the Army. Now Army Chief General V K Singh has lobbed yet another "corruption bomb," this time in the court of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
He has brought out a May 2011 letter he received from Trinamool MP Ambika Banerjee and asked the agency to probe the MP's complaint against Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag. Lt Gen Dalbir Singh is commanding the Dimapur-based 3 Corps and is in line — after Lt General Bikram Singh — to be the Army chief.

The forwarding of the MP's letter to the CBI is set to open up another can of worms. For, the MP has made a series of allegations of "procurement scams" in the "secret" Special Frontier Force — when Lt Gen Dalbir Singh was its Inspector General — including alleged payoffs for the purchase of night-vision devices, communication systems, weapons as well as parachutes.

The MP has also named Army officers, including a former Army Chief, who he has alleged received crores in kickbacks for defence procurements and amassed huge disproportionate assets. These issues, he said, have been raised by him in letters to the Government. Banerjee has also named agents who he claims dealt with these procurements.

The Army chief's latest "complaint'' reached the CBI headquarters yesterday, barely a day after a team from the agency visited the South Block office of the Army Chief to commence the probe into the bribery charges made by him. It arrived in the form of a covering letter signed by General V K Singh, requesting the CBI for a detailed inquiry into Banerjee's letter. The timing of the MP's two-page letter being sent by the Chief — just under a year after it was written to the Prime Minister and Defence Minister A K Antony — is significant given the fact that General Singh is known to be opposed to the appointment of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh as one of the Army Commanders while the Ministry of Defence is backing it.

In his letter, the Trinamool MP makes many allegations regarding procurement by the SFF when Lt General Dalbir Singh was its Inspector General. But the Army Chief has, in his covering note, claimed to the CBI that the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) of a senior Army officer who was on deputation to the guerrilla force was downgraded by the IG — who was then Major General — when the officer did not "succumb'' to pressures of the cartel which wanted to sell parachutes to the force.

The Army Chief has not named this officer but has said that he received a representation from him. At the same time, the Chief has asked the CBI to inquire into the allegations of widespead corruption in procurements in the SFF and Army as listed by the MP.

When contacted by The Indian Express, Banerjee confirmed that he had written such a letter of complaint to the Defence Minister last year. He said: "I had received a response from the Ministry of Defence that the allegations would be inquired into but I have not heard from the Government ever since.''

The CBI is in the process of ascertaining what action can be taken and will evidently, ask the Ministry of Defence for an inspection of relevant files of procurement mentioned in the letter. With the SFF being categorized as a "secret'' force under administrative control of the Reserach and Analysis Wing (R&AW), the CBI may have to deal with the Cabinet Secretariat while asking for the documents of parchute purchases and the role of the Army officer in detecting the fraud.

 

[nitesh]

It explains why the Tatra owner goose is cooked

Tatra faces tunneling and tax evasion allegations | Czech Position

Tatra faces tunneling and tax evasion allegations

Anonymous plaintiff accuses the major owner and management of Tatra truck maker of tunneling profits and tax evasion
The management and a major shareholder in the iconic Czech truck producer Tatra face a criminal complaint for allegedly failing to ensure proper oversight of assets. The anonymous plaintiff claims that the sale of truck parts at knock-down prices to India via an intermediary British company has damaged the company.
Václav Láska, a former high-ranking police investigator, lawyer and one-time head of the local branch of watchdog Transparency International, has lodged a criminal complaint against the management of Tatra trucks and one of the firm's major shareholders, Indian businessman Ravinder Kumar Rishi, on behalf of plaintiffs who wish to remain anonymous due to fears of "labor persecution," the daily Právo reported on Wednesday.

Vectra allegedly profits from Tatra's loss

Since 2005, Tatra has supplied so-called complete knock-down kits (CKD), containing all the components of haulage Láska claims that between 2005 and 2010 Tatra lost profits of around Kč 270 milliontrucks to the Indian state-owned firm Beml Limited, which then assembles the vehicles in India. The transactions have been conducted through British-registered intermediary firm Vectra Limited, which, according to the charges, has frequently purchased the CKD kits at below production cost, thus causing losses to the Czech company running into millions of crowns.

"The Tatra company sells kits to the British company Vectra Limited without a profit margin, and even at prices lower than the cost of manufacturing. All margins from this business, i.e. all profits from these transactions, go only to the accounts of the British company," Láska told Právo. "The fact that the representatives of Tatra allow these transactions clearly contradicts the principles of sound economic governance."

Láska claims that between 2005 and 2010 Tatra lost around Kč 270 million in potential profit. The calculation is based on a profit margin of 10 percent per kit, which he says the management intentionally forfeited in order to sell the goods to Vectra Limited at a knock-down price. Láska also says that through the transactions the company also avoided paying tens of millions of crowns in tax.

"By transferring the considerable profits to the British company, the Tatra company reduced its income tax payments by tens of millions of crowns," Láska said.

Alleged misuse of information

Ravinder Kumar Rishi, deputy chairman of Tatra's supervisory board, is also the owner of Vectra Limited and thus de facto represents both Tatra and Vectra in business negotiations — and the transactions in question. According to Láska, Ravinder Kumar Rishi may have misused information in these business relations.

In 2010, Tatra supplied 600 CKD kits to the Indian company Beml — which assembles the trucks and has large orders with the Indian army — and according to Láska, Tatra has committed to deliver a further 460 kits this year. "If the criminal complaint is deemed to be justified, steps could be taken which will curtail further losses and also stop additional tax evasion," Láska told Právo

 

[parijataka]

VK Singh bribe row: Congress fears probe may implicate Rajiv Gandhi

Well, well, well. Def Minister Antony and Gen VK Singh seem to be the straight forward guys here, Antony has stepped on some toes by announcing CBI probe.

VK Singh bribe row: Congress fears probe may implicate Rajiv Gandhi

The Congress is in a tizzy over defence minister AK Antony's hurry to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into army chief VK Singh's allegations that he was offered a Rs14 crore bribe to clear the purchase of substandard Tatra trucks. The party fears that the probe may open a can of worms as the deal opting for Tatra trucks was signed in 1986 when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister as well as defence minister. Businessman Rajiv Rishi who got the deal to purchase the high-technology Tatra trucks was believed to be a close friend of Gandhi.Congress leaders are upset that Antony has handed over the bribe allegation case to the CBI without even discussing the issue with party colleagues in the absence of prime minister (PM) Manmohan Singh. He scribbled his directive on the press clipping mentioning the bribery charge and asked the defence ministry to pass the matter to the CBI.

"There is a proper way of ordering a probe. He could have consulted his senior-most colleague Pranab Mukherjee to set the terms and references for the probe," a visibly upset senior minister told DNA.

In the absence of terms and references, the party fears that the CBI may dig up minute details of the deal and sully Rajiv Gandhi's name. The Bofors ghost continues to haunt the Congress to date and now, the CBI probe may end up naming Gandhi by probing Gen Singh's charge that substandard Tatra trucks were bought for exorbitant prices over the years. Though respected in the party for his integrity, Antony may now face the high command's ire for ordering a probe without examining its implications. "He may be saving himself from facing the wrath of the opposition, but he has made the first family of the ruling party vulnerable," Congress leaders told DNA.

Sources said Gen Singh's interview in a newspaper in which he made the bribery allegations enraged Antony so much that he called up the defence secretary from his Parliament house chamber itself and asked him to order a CBI probe. "He did not even call for the files to examine the deal," sources said.


Congress loyalists are working overtime to ensure the CBI limits its inquiry to the army chief's bribe allegations and that Rajiv Gandhi's name does not crop up in connection with the Tatra trucks deal.

Insiders, however, said the defence ministry letter has called for a "comprehensive probe" and therefore, the CBI will be forced to unearth details from the day the proposal to buy Tatra trucks was made. The probe may also cover how the supplies took place over the years and if any special favour was accorded to its manufacturer over and above the offers made by other competitors. Interestingly, the deal for Tatra trucks was made around the same time when the Bofors deal was inked.

Meanwhile, the government has decided not to touch Gen Singh unless he creates a new problem. Some members of the Congress and the opposition, particularly the JD(U), have sought the army chief's dismissal following Wednesday's DNA report about him having written a letter to the PM mentioning the army's lack of preparedness for war. The PM chaired a meeting on Wednesday and rejected demands to sack the army chief.

Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said such issues need not be debated in public. He, however, said Antony's statement declaring India's full preparedness to take on any eventuality was encouraging and answered all doubts raised by the army chief's leaked letter.

 

[Daredevil]

Things are getting interesting hour by hour. Let more truths come out in the open.

 

[Blackwater]

Army Chief drops another bribery bomb, asks CBI to probe top Lt Gen
Army Chief drops another bribery bomb, asks CBI to probe top Lt Gen - Indian Express

First, it was the offer of a Rs 14-crore bribe for the purchase of trucks that he attributed to his former colleague Lt General Tejinder Singh. Then he sent a letter to the Prime Minister on what he called were glaring gaps in the Army. Now Army Chief General V K Singh has lobbed yet another "corruption bomb," this time in the court of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
He has brought out a May 2011 letter he received from Trinamool MP Ambika Banerjee and asked the agency to probe the MP's complaint against Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag. Lt Gen Dalbir Singh is commanding the Dimapur-based 3 Corps and is in line — after Lt General Bikram Singh — to be the Army chief.

The forwarding of the MP's letter to the CBI is set to open up another can of worms. For, the MP has made a series of allegations of "procurement scams" in the "secret" Special Frontier Force — when Lt Gen Dalbir Singh was its Inspector General — including alleged payoffs for the purchase of night-vision devices, communication systems, weapons as well as parachutes.

The MP has also named Army officers, including a former Army Chief, who he has alleged received crores in kickbacks for defence procurements and amassed huge disproportionate assets. These issues, he said, have been raised by him in letters to the Government. Banerjee has also named agents who he claims dealt with these procurements.

The Army chief's latest "complaint'' reached the CBI headquarters yesterday, barely a day after a team from the agency visited the South Block office of the Army Chief to commence the probe into the bribery charges made by him. It arrived in the form of a covering letter signed by General V K Singh, requesting the CBI for a detailed inquiry into Banerjee's letter. The timing of the MP's two-page letter being sent by the Chief — just under a year after it was written to the Prime Minister and Defence Minister A K Antony — is significant given the fact that General Singh is known to be opposed to the appointment of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh as one of the Army Commanders while the Ministry of Defence is backing it.

In his letter, the Trinamool MP makes many allegations regarding procurement by the SFF when Lt General Dalbir Singh was its Inspector General. But the Army Chief has, in his covering note, claimed to the CBI that the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) of a senior Army officer who was on deputation to the guerrilla force was downgraded by the IG — who was then Major General — when the officer did not "succumb'' to pressures of the cartel which wanted to sell parachutes to the force.

The Army Chief has not named this officer but has said that he received a representation from him. At the same time, the Chief has asked the CBI to inquire into the allegations of widespead corruption in procurements in the SFF and Army as listed by the MP.

When contacted by The Indian Express, Banerjee confirmed that he had written such a letter of complaint to the Defence Minister last year. He said: "I had received a response from the Ministry of Defence that the allegations would be inquired into but I have not heard from the Government ever since.''

The CBI is in the process of ascertaining what action can be taken and will evidently, ask the Ministry of Defence for an inspection of relevant files of procurement mentioned in the letter. With the SFF being categorized as a "secret'' force under administrative control of the Reserach and Analysis Wing (R&AW), the CBI may have to deal with the Cabinet Secretariat while asking for the documents of parchute purchases and the role of the Army officer in detecting the fraud.

General Dalbir Singh Suhag(suhag loot gaya)

 

[Daredevil]

Efforts to cover-up the whole issue has started.

Army Chief General VK Singh may be asked to go on leave till he retires: sources

New Delhi: The government may ask Army Chief General VK Singh to go on leave till May 31, the day he retires as it triple to tide over the crisis precipitated by the General levelling bribery allegations against serving as well as retired Army officers and writing a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh mentioning that the Army was ill-equipped to fight a war and defeat the enemy. Sources say both the government and the Opposition are against sacking General VK Singh and he may, therefore, be asked to go on leave till he retires.

The Intelligence Bureau has begun a probe into the leak of the Army Chief's letter to the Prime Minister. IB Director Nehchal Sandhu also met General Singh on Thursday. The letter written by General Singh claims shortcomings in defence preparedness within the armed forces.

Reacting to the leak of his letter to the Prime Minister, General Singh said, "This is an outrage, official communication with the PM or anybody for that matter with the Chief of staff is privileged information. I have nothing to do with the leak. The leaking of the letter should be treated as high treason, this cynical approach to tar my reputation has to be stopped. The source of leak has to be found and dealt with ruthlessly."


General VK Singh has come under attack for the various revelations and claims in the past few days. The political class is divided over the Army Chief. Some leaders have even called for the Army Chief to be sacked.

Congress MP Harshvardhan Singh wrote to Defence Minister AK Antony demanding the sacking of Army Chief General VK Singh. "General Singh is doing all this after Supreme Court snubbed him on age row. It seems he is planning to join politics," Harshvardhan Singh said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad also alleged that General Singh was preparing for a political role after retiring from the Army. "The Army Chief is frustrated. He wants to contest elections," said Lalu.

Indian Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi even called General Singh a frustrated man. "He did not get an extension even from the court so it may be a frustrated mind's utterance," said Ravi while referring to the age row case in the Supreme Court where the General was forced to accept his date of birth as May 10, 1950 in the official records instead of May 10, 1951 as he had been claiming.

However, BJP leader and former Jaswant Singh slammed Defence Minister AK Antony over the Army Chief row and said he was opposed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing Army officers. "I am in principle opposed to the idea of the CBI investigating officers of the armed forces," he said speaking to CNN-IBN.

Slamming the Defence Minister for lack of action, he said, "The Defence Minister didn't rise to the occasion. The Defence Minister who doesn't hold his head in his hands on such issues. He should have taken an appropriate action with or without a written complaint."

Defending the Army Chief, Jaswant Singh said, "It is well within the duty and function of the Army chief to cancel the order. Investigating the offer of the bribe is part of the Army act. He can't go to the police and file an FIR. He has to report this to his superior who happens to be the Defence Minister."

Speaking on the letter written by the Army Chief to the Prime Minister claiming shortcomings in defence preparedness within the armed forces, Jaswant Singh said, "Such communication between an Army Chief on security is routine. Every month during the NDA regime the Army Chief used to write a letter to the Prime Minister and the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to do monthly meetings. There is nothing out of order here."

A letter written by the Army Chief to the Prime Minister's Office claiming shortcomings in defence preparedness within the armed forces got leaked on Wednesday.

General VK Singh also sent a letter written by Trinamool MP Ambika Banerjee, which calls for a probe against Lt General Dalbir Singh Suhag, to the CBI. He also claimed to have been offered bribe for clearing sub-standard vehicles for the Army.

 

[lemontree]

It is a complete disgrace and royal loot.
We should look at an Indian Summer if any action is taken against Gen VK Singh by the politicians.

We as citizens need to clean the system, and go out and vote the nextr time there are elections in your city and state.

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

As PM, Deve Gowda was offered bribes for defence equipment, says his son

Bangalore: The Army Chief's disclosure this week that he was offered 14 crores to purchase trucks for the Army has Opposition parties and military experts pointing to the exigent need to look at how defence equipment is bought.

Today, in Bangalore, the son of former prime minister Deve Gowda made the startling claim that while he was PM, his father too had been offered bribes by middlemen involved in defence deals. HD Kumaraswamy, who has in the past been the chief minister of Karnataka, said the middlemen had approached his father and him. He did not offer any evidence to support his claim.

Deve Gowda was prime minister of India between June 1996 and April 1997.

When asked why he had not shared these details earlier, Mr Kumaraswamy said that the army chief's revelations had provoked him to share his experience.

In Delhi today, Defence Minister AK Antony today said that six companies have been blacklisted by him after they were named in a chargesheet against former Ordnance Factory Board chief Sudipto Ghosh. "The government has a zero tolerance policy for corruption and has decided that in the procurement process, if any malpractices are found at any stage, it would not hesitate to cancel the contracts," he said.

As PM, Deve Gowda was offered bribes for defence equipment, says his son

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Shaitan]

The Hinduja flagship, Ashok Leyland has unveiled the Super Stallion 8x8 High Mobility Vehicle (HMV)

The Super Stallion HMV 8x8 is the new flagship of Ashok Leyland's range of logistics vehicles. It has been specially configured to meet the army's emerging requirement for vehicles with higher mobility and greater power to operate in challenging desert terrains. It is propelled by astate-of-the-art powerful 360 hp (265 kW) Neptune engine, that can crank up a torque of 1400 Nm.

 

[KS]

VK Singh bribe row: Congress fears probe may implicate Rajiv Gandhi - India - DNA

 

[nitesh]

VK Singh bribe row: Congress fears probe may implicate Rajiv Gandhi - India - DNA

So, the operation mop up has begun

DNA: India - To shield Rajiv Gandhi, govt aims to limit probe

 

[sob]

MOD was aware of the Tatra bribery issue as far back as 2009 when their own party member Ghulam Nabi Azad wrote to the Raksha Mantri pointing this out. But our St. Antony for reasons best known to him sat on it.

St. Antony asks COAS for a written complaint to act against Tatra while he is sitting conviniently on a written complaint 3 years old.

DNA exclusive: AK Antony was aware of Tatra scam since 2009 - India - DNA

Defence minister AK Antony was formally apprised of the Tatra trucks scam as early as 2009 but he turned a blind eye. DNA detailed this scam in a series of investigative stories in July 2011.

This assumes significance because Antony recently told Parliament that he didn't act when army chief General VK Singh told him he was offered a Rs14 crore bribe to clear the purchase of a tranche of substandard Tatra trucks because he didn't get a 'written complaint'.

If a 'written complaint' is what it takes to act, why didn't Antony or his ministry react when Ghulam Nabi Azad, a senior Congress party colleague and then health minister, wrote to him on behalf of Sonia Gandhi requesting "necessary action" in the Tatra matter? DNA has a copy of Azad's letter dated October 5, 2009.

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

Tatra: Whiff of a scam?



TIMES NOW has accessed a letter of a whistleblower demanding resignation of BEML CMD over charges of alleged misappropriation of funds. The letter claimed that BEML CMD VRS Natarajan allegedly misappropriated funds to the tune of Rs 150 crore. The letter also went on to claim that the clarification issued by BEML CMD following media reports of irregularities is untrue. The letter also said that Tatra Sipox was not an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) as it was allegedly registered as a Marriage Bureau. It claimed that BEML CMD and Tatra allegedly mislead the Indian government that Tatra Sipox is a fully owned subsidiary of OEM.

Tatra: Whiff of a scam?-India-TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos

 

[Shaitan]

Ashok Leyland Stallion and Super Stallion

 

[Bhadra]

Business Insider - Meet The 23 Richest Politicians In The World Natalia Angelo | Mar. 2, 2012
Mayor Bloomberg
No one goes into politics to get rich, but politicians happen to be some of the wealthiest figures around the globe. German newspaper Die Welt's World's Luxury Guide section recently released a list of the world's richest politicians, and from local officials and members of Congress to foreign ministers and royal heirs, the list includes newcomers and regulars alike.
#4 Sonia GandhiWikimedia Commons/Ricardo Stocker/PR
Net Worth: $2-19 billionResidence: India
Position: President, Indian National Congress (political party)

 

[sesha_maruthi27]

Now then, the report from Chez Republic says that one year ago a criminal case was filed against the Vectra Trucks Owner Ravi Rishi, saying that he was misusing his post in the BOARD of TATRA TRUCKS and was buying all the knockdown trucks from TATRA TRUCKS CHEZ REPUBLIC and was selling to INDIA at cheaper costs..........

Even as Ravindra Kumar Rishi, owner of the UK-based Vectra Group has refuted irregularities in the Tatra deal, media reports claim that a criminal complaint filed against him in the Czech Republic in the Tatra matter last year. This comes a day after Rishi was summoned for questioning by the CBI in connection with alleged irregularities in the supply of all-terrain Tatra freight vehicles through the state-owned BEML to the Indian Army.

Ravi Rishi at centre of trucks scam?

The CBI has booked Rishi and unnamed officials of Defence Ministry, BEML and Army for alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI action today follows Defence Minister A K Antony giving sanction for probe on March 21 into the BEML case much before a Delhi daily carried Army chief's interview claiming that he was offered bribe of Rs 14 crore for clearing the purchase of "sub-standard" trucks.

http://www.timesnow.tv/Ravi-Rishi-at-centre-of-trucks-scam/articleshow/4399219.cms

http://www.timesnow.tv/

 

[Vishwarupa]

Tatra truck deal: Antony faces jail for neglect of duty?

Tatra truck deal: Antony faces jail for neglect of duty? - The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Defence minister A K Antony had better come up with a "reasonable excuse" for waking up to corruption allegations in the Tatra deal two years after they had been brought to his notice. For, he would otherwise be liable for a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment up to six months.

The belated registration on Friday of a CBI case related to Tatra indicates Antony violated a legal duty when the bribery allegations had first been brought to his notice in writing by his party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad in 2009 and then verbally by Army chief Gen V K Singh in 2010.

His prolonged failure to take action on the issue till it came out in the open flies in the face of the duty cast on "every person" by Section 39 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

When anybody becomes "aware of the commission of or of the intention of any other person to commit" any of the range of offences listed in Section 39 CrPC, he "shall ... forthwith give information" to the nearest magistrate or police officer of "such commission or intention".

The offences which every person is thus required to report immediately include those related to "illegal gratification", which come under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Violations of Section 39 CrPC are punishable under Section 176 of the IPC, which prescribes a maximum six months is jail. It penalizes whoever is "legally bound" to give any information relating to "the commission of an offence or... for the purpose of preventing the commission of an offence".

The only loophole available to Antony is to cite some "reasonable excuse" for his failure to refer the Tatra issue immediately to the CBI. But then, Section 39 CrPC is so stringently worded that it casts a "burden" on the person concerned to prove the reasonableness of his excuse for not performing his duty.

It is doubtful whether Antony can cite the absence of written complaint by Singh as a "reasonable excuse" for not acting promptly. The Army chief, too, is liable under Section 39 CrPC for assuming he can leave it to Antony to initiate the legal process. Since the law requires him to report the matter, he cannot cite his communication to his superior as a "reasonable excuse".