Tatra: General submits bribe complaint to CBI

Army chief General VK Singh on Tuesday gave the CBI a written complaint that a retired officer had offered him a bribe of Rs14 crore to clear a tranche of 600 substandard Tatra trucks.

A CBI officer said Gen Singh’s two-page letter narrates the incident in a sequence. “But he has not provided any substantive evidence to support his allegation,” he said. The officer said the CBI has sought legal opinion on the letter.

When Gen Singh spoke of the bribe offer in the media, the defence ministry directed the CBI to look into his complaint. Minister AK Antony acknowledged that the general had briefed him of the incident. The CBI had asked Gen Singh to file a formal complaint when he told them that Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh had offered him the bribe. 

The retired lieutenant general has refuted the charges and has filed a defamation case against Gen Singh in court.

Team Anna joins the fray: Anna Hazare on Tuesday wrote to prime minister Manmohan Singh about their concerns over Gen Singh’s letter highlighting the lack of defence preparedness.

Team Anna demanded an inquiry into home minister P Chidambaram’s role in the Indian Express story on two army units marching towards Delhi.