NDA Scam: Lt Gen Jatinder Singh to be grilled by CBI

Ex-NDA chief to be grilled in job scam
Rajshri Mehta, TNN | Sep 16, 2012, 01.33AM IST
MUMBAI: The CBI will question Lt Gen Jatinder Singh, former Commandant of the National Defence Academy, on September 17 in the recruitment scam.
According to an investigation, Rs 3-5 lakh was allegedly paid in bribe for C-grade posts of as C-grade staff like cooks, gardeners, clerks etc at NDA while Lt Gen Singh was the commandant there. The total bribe amount came close to Rs 1.76 crore. The accused allegedly took signatures of the candidates, who agreed to pay the bribe, on blank sheets and later filled them with correct answers, the investigation said.
The defence ministry granted the permission to quiz Singh after the CBI reportedly reportedly established a "money link", connecting Singh and his brother to the alleged scam. The CBI probe showed prime accused Col Kulbir Singh, also the staff officer to the Commandant, gave Rs 4 lakh in cash to Singh's brother during a meeting in a five-star hotel in Mumbai on June 23. After the CBI arrested six of NDA's employees, including Singh's staff officer, for allegedly taking bribe from candidates appearing for the subordinate jobs, Singh lieutenant general was earlier transferred out of NDA and attached to the Army Headquarters.
Singh declined to comment when contacted by TOI.
The CBI has already questioned Singh's brother who works in a leading corporate house. "He told us Singh took Rs 4 lakh from him which was returned by Kulbir Singh. The money was for building a home in Ambala. It's odd that Singh should take money from a staff officer to repay his brother and that too, in a five-star hotel. Singh took the money from his brother in cheque and paid it back in cash," said an agency official.
Singh will be asked to explain the source of funds for his under-construction 7,000 sq-ft bungalow in Ambala, worth over Rs 2 crore. The agency will ask Singh questions like his powers in approving and preventing any mischief in the recruitment process and action taken on complaints of malpractices in exams.
According to the probe, bribes of Rs 3-5 lakh were allegedly paid for jobs as C-grade staff like cooks, gardners, clerks at NDA while Singh was the commandant there.
Ex-NDA chief to be grilled in job scam
Comment: The commandant is obviously privy to the scam and author of the same. He was cultivating 5 Star Culture and VIP status in the Academy. He should go down in NDA history as a scamster. The law should catch up and confine him in his rightful quarters.

Voice of the Indian Army: Gen VK Singh is a true Hero

Wednesday, May 30, 2012
An enemy­ that is our own..­. A Meaningful letter from Sub Maj & Hony Lt Kameshwar Pandey

Dear and Respected Sirs and Colleagues,
To concur and side with newspapers, magazines and television channels, whose own credibility is dubious and questionable, is rather unfortunate. A large part of the mainstream media is known to have shady allegiance or some sort of backstage arrangement with political parties and vested interest groups. And concordantly, more often than not, it seems, the so called experts and panelists who are called for interviews and opinions are nothing but pawns of either the government or someone powerful.
What is even more unfortunate is the fact that some of our own senior veterans have defaulted and turned over to the dark side. Knowing all along that their actions are against the very oath that they took when they first donned the uniform - to protect and serve the nation and its people.
I am not sure what honour and prestige of the institution you are talking about. What institution and what prestige? The masses of this country neither trust their government nor any other government agency. Judges, prime ministers, ministers, the CBI, the police and the list is endless. And so is the list of their infamous track records.
In these deteriorating times, Gen VK Singh is a true hero. He has shown all of us the true colours of the present government including its administrative officers, ministers, judges and even the prime minister. He has displayed the confidence and the courage to show the true state of affairs of this weakening administration, its corrupt departments and its failing systems. And that deserves respect and admiration from the military community as well as from the citizens of this great nation.
If these so called leaders, whom we are supposed to follow, are so apathetic to our emotions then its indeed unfortunate for the country. In these changing times, we will have to adjust the sails according to the winds. None of our actions or policies should reflect that we are siding with this corrupt administration. In the name of honour, dignity and code of conduct, if we are indirectly helping those who are destroying the country, we are killing our own reputation as the military being last bastion and the protectors of the sovereignty of the country.
It is a well known fact amongst military ranks that the privileges of the military have been continuously going down ever since we gained independence. And the current state of affairs is so pathetic that JCOs and ORs are meted out a treatment no more than that of labourers. The recruits that join the military now are well educated and can think for themselves. They can understand the difference between serving the country and serving corrupt politicians who do not respect their generals, let alone respect them.
What respect will the future Army Chief command if he is already amidst controversies even before taking office? Is he the only option the Army has? Is there no potential Army Chief with a clean service record and no previous controversies? Or is the government selecting a chief who will be party to their schemes and plans for god knows what evil purposes! If the service chiefs do not fight for the dignity, respect and welfare of the men and women serving the military, a time may come when they will have no control on such a large force and that can be truly dangerous. And some gentlemen who think Gen VK Singh is guilty of letting the army down are sadly mistaken. What is most important for all of us right now is our unity and awareness. Awareness is an absolute requirement for true freedom. The great martyrs like Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar and Subhash are screaming right in our faces urging us to join this second battle for freedom and justice. To not weaken this movement with undue and unwarranted negative remarks.
What Gen VK Singh started - a fight against the cancer that is eating the Army from the inside - was supposed to be followed through by the next chief but that does not seem likely. Gen VK Singh had the courage to point out what is right and what isn't and that did not go down well with the government. With him gone, we have little hope unless the military community gears up to cast out the bad fish which are rotting the whole pond.
Gen VK Singh Sir ! HATS OFF TO YOU.
This time the enemy is our own and that is why the battle is twice as hard.

Tatra-Vectra-Rishi triangle a threat to defence?

Rishi’s Vectra Group is the real financial gainer?
A source and senior BEML employee who has worked closely with Tatra truck deals told DNA that Rishi has been “managing” Tatra deals and used to get Tatra orders cleared every year by bribing officials in the Indian Army and BEML. His company is the real beneficiary of this Tatra deal and he might have wanted to push Gen VK Singh to sign the deal clearing another tranche of trucks, said the source.
According to the Czech complaint, Tatra Czech’s board of executives is obligated under the law to exercise its role diligently. However, by allowing Tatra Czech to supply completely knocked down (CKD) sets of Tatra freight vehicles to BEML Ltd indirectly (via Tatra Sipox/Vectra Group), Tatra Czech is stripped of any profit, which is undoubtedly not diligent. “At a common rate of 0.96 million CZK per set and a usual margin of 10%, TATRA Inc. suffered between 2005 and 2010 a loss of profit of 270 million CZK,” the complaint states. It is obvious that due to this indirect sale, Tatra Czech commits tax evasion to the scale of several dozens of millions of Czech Korunas, says the complaint.
Vectra Group a Tax Evader?

Isn't Tatra-Vectra-Rishi triangle a threat to defence? by Sankar Ray
The Tatra Truck scam unfolds like an unending chain reaction. Revelations, one after another, bring out stupefying details. Much before General V K Singh divulged the alleged Rs 14 crore kickback offer, Czech website http://www.ceskapozice.cz carried an explosive interview with Václav Láska, a former high-ranking police investigator, lawyer and an exregional head of watchdog Transparency International on 27 April last. The major stakeholder of the Czeck truck manufacturer faced severe financial crisis due to tunneling and tax evasions. Speaking to the widely read Czech daily Právo, Láska disclosed that a criminal complaint was lodged against the management of Tatra trucks and one of the firm's major shareholders, Indian businessman Ravinder Kumar Rishi, deputy chairman of Tatra's supervisory board, and the owner of Vectra Limited. The sale of truck parts at knock-down prices to India via an intermediary British company damaged the company, it stated. Criminal complaint from the Czech government is too crucial for the Indian ministry of defence (MoD) to ignore. "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.
The Czech manufacturing firm which has been supplying complete knock-down kits containing all the components of haulage to the India's central public sector undertaking BEML Limited where the vehicles are assembled, incurred losses running into millions of crowns. Láska told the Czech morninger, "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 go only to the accounts of the British company. The fact that the representatives of Tatra allow these transactions clearly contradicts the principles of sound economic governance."
Was the MoD, particularly the defence minister A K Antony whose DNA is his unimpeachable integrity unaware of the news in one of the largest selling dailies in Prague? It's very unlikely. Diplomats at the Indian embassy in Prague read and scan the Czech daily regularly. The so-called defence analysts - I mean the majority of them - might have kept their eyes closed and ears shut as these pundits keep defence establishment in good humour. About the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis which receives substantial funds from the MoD, the less said, the better.
British-registered intermediary firm Vectra Limited, the intermediary, frequently purchased the CKD kits at below production cost. The role of biggies at the helm of the Indian PSU BEML which assembles the vehicles and their bonhomie with their counterparts in Vectra Limited that frequently purchased the CKD kits at below production cost is murky and has to be probed. Let the defence pundits be kept at bay Rishi has been the de facto negotiator for both Tatra and Vectra. Láska snapped fingers at Rishi for indulging in misinformation for pecuniary gains. In 2010, alone Tatra sold 600 CKD kits to the BEML ( other than additional commitment of 460 kits in the same year).
Doubts about under-the-table deals are no hearsay based, nor is the total amount of kickbacks confined to barely Rs 14 crores. The subterranean transactions in which were involved people who were not in uniform must have been several times more. Mr Antony knew everything but remains mum, very much contrary to his style of politics and ministership. Was he being prevented by a any extra-constitutional authority from dealing with the matter freehandedly?
According to Láska, between 2005 and 2010, Tatra incurred losses in potential profit to the tune of Kč 270 million (Rs 750 crores). He based his calculations on a profit margin of 10 percent per kit. The management intentionally forfeited for selling the goods to Vectra Limited at a knock-down price. "By transferring the considerable profits to the British company, the Tatra company reduced its income tax payments by tens of millions of crowns," he added That means the Czech Republic had to absorb 10 per cent loss due to under-invoicing. But Vectra supplied trucks at more than 100 per cent of the amount for which Tatra sold in the open market. This scam goes abated for the last ten years and if Rishi cheated Czechs by 10 p.c., MoD or BEML's financial damage is ten times more.
Trucks produced by Tatra, one of the world's oldest manufacturers of motor vehicle, enjoyed a high reputation during the 'communist' era. The quality of the trucks is not known to have been questioned. The successful launch of Agni - ICBM was from Tetra trucks. The question is about the murky role of arms dealers or the intermediaries for whom business ethics has no meaning.
Isn't Tatra-Vectra-Rishi triangle a threat to defence?

Tatra drives holes in Army's Budget: Politicians and Bureaucrats Coffers and Pockets Padded

May 18, 2012 at 06:48am IST
BEML fleecing Army, providing poor service
New Delhi: In fresh trouble for defence PSU BEML, the Defence Ministry has received a complain accusing it of charging exhorbitant rates for spare parts of vehicles.
A copy of the complaint has been accessed by CNN-IBN. According to the complaint, BEML was over charging for spare parts of armoured recovery vehicles.
The complaint has cited cost escalation of up to 800 per cent in spare parts bought from BEML. The Defence Ministry has received a complaint accusing BEML of charging exorbitant rates for spare parts of vehicles.
New Delhi: In fresh trouble for defence PSU BEML, the Defence Ministry has received a complain accusing it of charging exhorbitant rates for spare parts of vehicles.
A copy of the complaint has been accessed by CNN-IBN. According to the complaint, BEML was over charging for spare parts of armoured recovery vehicles.
The complaint has cited cost escalation of up to 800 per cent in spare parts bought from BEML. The Defence Ministry has received a complaint accusing BEML of charging exorbitant rates for spare parts of vehicles.
Non-return valve, which costs an estimated Rs 1,600 was supplied by BEML at Rs 39,550 in 2008-09, whereas, bolts that cost Rs 424 were sold by BEML at Rs 15,480 in the same year.
The complaint further says that in 2010-11, truck axle available for Rs 5,242, were sold by BEML for Rs 1.25 lakh, which is an escalation of over 2000 per cent.
BEML fleecing Army, providing poor service
Related reading
CBI intensifies probe on Tatra deal; questions more people
Complex Tatra purchase deal making holes in Army's budget
Comment:Liechtenstein trusts legal claims Ravi Rishi. The scamster's flourishing business is all about a perfect money laundering cycling route in tax havens which will be buried like Bofors by CBI.

President's Pune Home: Is surrender of land a diversionary tactic?

President returns Pune plot to Govt.
April 28, 2012 2:20 am
President Pratibha Patil, who has recently come at the centre of a controversy over her post-retirement home in Pune, on Friday decided to give up the controversial plot back to the government.
Confirming the development, the Presidential spokesperson said, “President Patil has decided to give up the Pune land on which a bungalow, meant to be her post-retirement home, was to be built back to the government.”
“The President is answerable to the people of India, Constitution and her conscience. The land will remain with the government,” Presidential spokesperson said. The controversy about President Pratibha Patil’s post-retirement home erupted after an organisation of ex-servicemen in Pune alleged that over fives acres of land had been allotted for purpose of her residence after she demits office later in July this year when her five-year term ends.
Suresh Patil, a retired Lt Col of the Pune-based ‘Justice for Jawan’, part of NGO ‘Green Thumb’ group, who has accessed details about the Government’s measures for providing her housing in Pune, claimed that a large extent of land measuring over 2.60 lakh square feet had been allotted to her in Khadki cantonment in Pune.
He claimed that a house with a plinth area of 4,500 square feet was being built for her by bringing down two British-era county bungalows. The former Army official questioned why such a large extent of land was being fenced to protect this house for Pratibha Patil, who recently made news when an RTI application brought out the fact that over Rs 205 crore were spent on her foreign travels.
President returns Pune plot to Govt.

AHQ CSD Liquor Smuggling: MOD, Civil Staff and Politicians

Who else is the beneficiary of CSD Liquor?
By Maj Gen Chander Nandwani
Issue: IDR Net Edition | Date: 11 May, 2012
Way back in 1995, I was posted as Additional Director General of Supplies & Transport in Army Headquarters. Apart from my routine responsibilities, I was also given additional charge of managing Army Headquarters (AHQ) canteen, as its Chairman. It wasn’t much of a prized post, since a retired Colonel appointed as the Canteen Manager with around 50 to 60 civilian employees working under him, was essentially accountable, for the day-to-day functioning of the canteen.
Therefore, my area of focus would be to strictly monitor the indenting and sale of such items. For this purpose, computers would be installed in the canteen and sale of liquor strictly regulated through issue of new cards after due verification of the cardholders. Soon after taking over the additional responsibility, I decided to pay a visit to the AHQ canteen during the lunch hour break to get a ‘Feedback’ from the employees with regard to their working conditions as also motivate them to provide better service to the customers. After patiently listening to their woes and giving ‘on-the-spot’ decisions to improve their working conditions, I made a remark that while being posted at Delhi on three earlier occasions, I had never patronized AHQ canteen, as more often than not, all the attractive consumer items including popular brands of liquor were seldom accessible to the customers. Therefore, my area of focus would be to strictly monitor the indenting and sale of such items. For this purpose, computers would be installed in the canteen and sale of liquor strictly regulated through issue of new cards after due verification of the cardholders. Further, the existing liquor cards in use would be discontinued straightaway and destroyed.
The next day, all hell was let loose against me. Big posters were pasted at every nook and corner of Sena Bhawan and South Block, making serious allegations against me. Radhe Shyam (name changed), a labourer and the union leader of AHQ Canteen civilian employees, having three buses and two flats in Delhi, threatened that there would be ‘Mass Joint Self Immolation’ by all employees at Jantar Mantar on the Republic Day (due after 10 days or so), if Maj Gen Chander Nandwani was not immediately removed from the post of Chairman of the canteen. News items on similar lines were also published in the reputed national dailies. The allegations made against me included taking of a big bribe for purchase new computers, favouring purchase of specific liquor brands, coercing women employees for sexual favours and so on. I was particularly tickled by the allegation of sexual favours and cheekily informed my wife that surely my standing in this regard was now far better than what she had imagined during past several years of our married life!!!
I was immediately summoned by the Quarter Master General (QMG), under whom the canteen functioned, and was asked to brief him on this sudden turn of events when everything was going on so smoothly before I took over the charge of the AHQ canteen. I requested for a couple of days time to make discreet enquiries. Before I could say ’Jack Robinson’, there was a note from the MOD signed by a Director level officer asking the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to comment on the allegations made against me and take all possible measures, including removing me from the post of Chairman, to avoid any embarrassment to the Govt., should the threat of ‘Mass Self-Immolation’ materialize, just prior to the Republic Day. What a joke! The matter did not end there. This note from MOD was followed by another note through which, a memorandum signed by 13 MPs and addressed to the Defence Minister, was also forwarded to the COAS, urging him to remove me from the post. This raised the hackles of the then COAS, late General BC Joshi. He called the QMG to his office and asked him to take the matter very seriously and put up a draft reply to both the notes of the MOD, for his approval. In the meanwhile an interim reply was sent to the MOD that the matter was being investigated.
My preliminary investigations revealed that a perfect nexus existed between the canteen civilian staff union leader Radhe Shyam, a few officials of MOD and a large number of politicians, to whom liquor was being supplied from AHQ canteen, on a regular basis. Of course the demand increased manifold during the time of elections. What intrigued me the most was the ‘modus operandi’ of smuggling out of such large quantities of liquor, with the Military Police and several other security agencies working in the highly sensitive areas of Army Headquarters and MOD. The actuality came to light when a disgruntled ex civilian employee of the canteen spilled the beans to me on promise of strict anonymity. I was shaken out of my bones when the truth came to light and immediately ran to the office of QMG to give him the details. He dis-believed me and decided to get the facts verified through a field security agency of the army and learnt to his horror that what I had disclosed to him was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The court of Inquiry proved these allegations to be false, baseless and malicious with the sole aim of having me removed from the post due to ulterior motives.
Well this is how the system worked. The union leader had in his custody hundreds of old liquor cards of servicemen and/or ex-servicemen who had either left the station or had died. He drew choicest brands of liquor from the canteen in the names of these personnel and had simultaneously perfected a distribution system through which the liquor was delivered right at the doorsteps of the selected MOD officials and several politicians apart from other influential clients in the ministry. Surprisingly, right next to the AHQ canteen was the parking lot of VIP staff cars and some of these staff car drivers had been bought over by Radhe Shyam by giving them free bottles of rum and other lucrative canteen items such as expensive watches etc. During the lunch break when security was lax, these drivers would reverse their cars next to the canteen bulk store, wherefrom crates of liquor were loaded into the dickey of these staff cars. Radhe Shyam instructed these drivers to deliver the liquor crates at various locations after dropping the VIPs at their respective residences. Wow what an ingenuous idea! The irony of the matter is that the staff cars with the flags & star plates of Generals, Admirals and Air Marshals (including the QMG), without the knowledge of the occupants, were being illegitimately used by unscrupulous individuals for their unholy deeds. Sadly these very senior officers had unknowingly become couriers of liquor for the politicians. No wonder there was such a sharp reaction from all quarters, when I had only hinted at introducing computers to check the sale of liquor from the AHQ canteen!
The Chief on being informed of the facts of the case directed the QMG to give me full protection and total support to cleanse the system. I obtained legal advice from a leading civilian lawyer. He advised me to request for an enquiry against myself since I had taken over the post barely 10 days earlier and had nothing to hide. Thereafter, on my specific request on file, a court of inquiry was ordered by the QMG to investigate into the allegations made by Radhe Shyam, which were supported by the MOD and the MPs. The court of Inquiry proved these allegations to be false, baseless and malicious with the sole aim of having me removed from the post due to ulterior motives. To avoid several heads from rolling, the MOD and the MPs were politely told by the then COAS verbally that the matter had been thoroughly investigated by a high-powered court of Inquiry, which had opined that there was no truth in the allegations made by the union leader. Hence the matter was not being pursued further to save all concerned from grave embarrassment.
On directions of the QMG, the services of the union leader were terminated under my signatures and the whole system revamped with the introduction of computers, thus bringing to an end the sordid drama of “The Canteen Liquor Connection of MOD!”
My only regret still remains that the allegation of my so-called sexual exploits with women employees was also quashed in the bargain, thus proving the obvious!!!
Who else is the beneficiary of CSD Liquor?
Comment: We need officers with courage and guts like Maj Gen Chander Nandwani to take on the growing corruption in CSD. Even officers in staff college use liquor for bartering with servants and for other services. The malaise is much more deep routed than in 1995...

Anti Corruption Activists unite the MP's

Now, Ramdev draws ire of MPs PTI New Delhi, May 3, 2012
After social activist Anna Hazare and his team, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has stoked a controversy calling MPs “dacoits and murderers,” evoking strong condemnation from parliamentarians who asserted that such “insults” are unacceptable.
Addressing the media while launching his month-long yatra in Chhattisgarh's Durg on Tuesday, Baba Ramdev said there were good people among the parliamentarians and he respected them. “But there are dacoits, murderers, illiterates among them. We have to save Parliament. We have to remove corrupt people.”
He accused the MPs of not caring for farmers and labourers.
“They are friends and slaves of money. They are illiterate, dacoits and murderers. They are devils in the form of humans, who we have elected to those posts. They are not worth it,” he said.
The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday with Speaker Meira Kumar and several MPs, including senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, not mincing words in deprecating the Yoga guru's utterances and asked people to show respect to Parliament.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad was also unsparing in his criticism saying the yoga guru was a frustrated man and a “mental case.”
“Ramdev is frustrated, whoever speaks like this is frustrated. He is a mental case,” Mr. Prasad told reporters.
Samajwadi Party member Shailendra Kumar sought action under the rules of parliamentary privilege against people making such “derogatory” references against MPs. Such derogatory remarks made openly on public platforms amounted to breach of privilege of Parliament, he said.
The Speaker said, “The Constitution is supreme. It has granted a certain position to Parliament. We all should take care of this first.”
Lashing out at Baba Ramdev, Mr. Sinha said insult of Parliament and lawmakers and indeed that of Constitution had become a norm now. “And who insults the more is a bigger hero now. This is absolutely wrong. Nobody has the authority, no matter how big the individual is, .... it insults the democratic institutions.”
BJP MP Kirti Azad said, “It has come to such a situation that in this country, nowadays anybody can speak anything and get away with it. No one seems to be in any control. However, I am surprised that Ramdev made such remarks.”
Union Minister Harish Rawat said Ramdev was raising a question mark on the whole democratic set-up.
Congress MP Jagadambika Pal said character assassination of Parliament and parliamentarians was not acceptable.
As his comments enraged parliamentarians, the Yoga guru on Wednesday sought to defend his remarks saying he had repeatedly noted that there were many “good” politicians in different parties.
“But there are certain people who are corrupt, have allegations of being characterless, have criminal charges and socially have a bad name. I have not said anything new. I have been saying it for long. That is why, the honest, good politicians do not have any objection to what I have said. But those who are corrupt, and have criminal records, they will obviously object to what I have said,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hazare came to the defence of the Yoga guru saying whatever he had said “is not wrong.”
“There is one thing that whatever Ramdev has said is not wrong. If it is wrong, there is proof against so many people today. When parties give tickets, why they give it to tainted people,” Mr. Hazare asked.
MP's react to truth
Comment: Sad to say many of the MP's come to serve themselves and also their families found to dabble in launder money. Most of them live a life of comfort on the tax payers money. There is no accountabilty for most of them... the citizens are left high and dry. Every election is repeat performance... it easy for crimnals to get elected rather than those who can serve the Nation.

BEML Chief Cons and Cheats: Is he conduit for Money Laundering

BEML chief cites ‘non-existing' provision to justify plot allotment Sudipto Mondal The Hindu 01 May 2012
V.R.S. Natarajan, Chairman and Managing Director of BEML, has contested the April 29 report in these columns on the alleged irregular allotments of housing sites to the niece and a friend of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Adviser T.K.A. Nair. Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Mr. Natarajan said the by-laws of the BEML Employee's Cooperative Society had a provision to allot sites to non-employees, such as Mr. Nair's niece, A. Preethy Prabha and family friend Uma Devi Nambiar.

However, documents available with The Hindu show that in 2006, the BEML society made an unsuccessful attempt to amend its by-laws and facilitate allotments of plots to non-employees. The Registrar of Cooperative Societies thwarted this move, refusing to ratify the amendment. Mr. Natarajan was quoted by PTI as saying: “There is a provision under the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act that five per cent of the sites can be given to people who have been nominated by farmers.” He claimed that the public sector defence undertaking's management had no control over the decisions taken by the elected board of the cooperative society. He termed “absolutely unfair and against the facts” the allegation that the allotments were made to secure the Prime Minister's Office's silence on the Tatra truck scam. He also said the plots might have been returned at the behest of Mr. Nair.

Documents show that on March 19, 2006, the BEML Employee's Cooperative Society passed a resolution to amend its by-laws. The resolution read: “The society can allot three per cent of the total sites in future layouts under its discretionary quota on [a] merit basis of each case in each layout to such persons who have rendered yeoman service to the development of the society and to the landlords, BEML company directors, executives, very senior executives, sports, fine arts, handicapped, trade union leaders of BEML, legal advisors and other people who are helping in one way or the other for the development of the society after enrolling them as associate members of our society.”

This resolution was sent to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies on April 5, 2006, for approval. On May 5 that year, the Registrar ruled that the amendments could not be ratified as they went against the provisions of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act, 1959, as well as the model by-laws laid down by the State government for house-building cooperative societies.
BEML in Chief in Land Scam: Allots Land to PMO to rest Money Laundering Cases

Tatra Tainted Natarajan: Ten year old rabbits found in his pockets

Skeletons tumble out of Tatra-tainted Natarajan’s closet
Posted on April 20, 2012 by admin
FRIDAY, 20 APRIL 2012 00:16 PNS | NEW DELHI HITS: 263 – The Pioneer
Under VRS Natarajan, PSU giant BEML was involved in large scale irregularities that went beyond Tatra truck deal. The CBI on Thursday registered an FIR against him for cheating and criminal conspiracy in hiring a consultancy firm without tendering process.
The noose is fast tightening around Natarajan, who has been Chairman and Managing Director of defence PSU BEML for almost a decade, with the CBI set to more cases following sanction for prosecution granted by the Defence Ministry.
At least six complaints of alleged financial misdemeanour by Natarajan is under CBI scanner.
After registering a case against Natarajan and Director of Coimbatore-based Astral Consultants CS Srivatsan for allegedly tweaking tenders to favour the private firm by cheating BEML, the CBI conducted searches at the official and residential premises of the duo at Bangalore and Coimbatore.
Natarajan, Srivatsan and other unnamed persons have been booked under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and certain provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case related to award of contract for the implementation of Enterprises Resource Planning Project in the public sector undertaking during 2004-09.
According to the CBI FIR, Natarajan and Srivatsan were part of alleged criminal conspiracy to award work worth Rs40 crore to Astral Consultants.
“It is alleged that the accused persons were parties to a criminal conspiracy entered amongst themselves at Bangalore and other places during 2004-09 to cheat M/s BEML in the matter of award of different works relating to the implementation of Enterprises Resource Planning Project in M/s BEML causing wrongful loss to M/s BEML and wrongful gain to others,” a CBI spokesperson said here.
Teams of CBI officials reached the Bangalore-residence of Natarajan, residence of Srivatsan, besides Coimbatore office of Astral and took into their possession some “incriminating” documents related to the tendering process and communications exchanged with the company, CBI sources said.
Natarajan is already facing CBI heat for his suspected role in a separate case regarding alleged irregularities in the procurement and supply of Tatra all terrain vehicles to Army. Natarajan has not been named so far in the Tatra procurement scandal case but the agency suspects that he was the mastermind of the entire scam.
The agency suspects that Natarajan in collusion with Vectra boss Ravi Rishi renewed the deal between BEML and UK-based Tatra Sipox in 2003, four years before the same was to be renewed, for supply of the all terrain vehicles to the Army. Tatra Sipox, according to the CBI FIR, was an intermediary firm and not an original equipment manufacturer. The original manufacturer of the Tatra trucks is Tatra Venus and defence procurement rules provide for procurement from OEMs only.
http://corruptionindrdo.com/2012/04/20/skeletons-tumble-out-of-tatra-tainted-natarajans-closet/

PC and Singhvi must be rested from Lokpal Drafting Committee

Unrecognised user warned to post sex CD of PC after Singhvi.
New Delhi: Despite the ban by Delhi High court, alleged sex CD of Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, goes aired on You Tube and Facebook. However after few hours, You Tube remove the clipping from its site referring it against the policies. The video was posted on a new account which was created on April 19 who again posted the video on You Tube after the site removed it. When You Tube, removed the video for second time, an unrecognized user posted it on Facebook page name as ‘Singhvi Video’. But this time user also posted a warning which reads that every time the video will be deleted, each time he will post it through other websites. Even he also warned that if the video will be deleted again, this time he will also upload the sex video of Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram with a Russian call girl.
CD of PC and Singhvi

CBI's diversionary raids on BEML Chief: CBI could pull a few more rabbits?

Tatra punch packed with raid heat on BEML chief By Mail Today Reporter
PUBLISHED: 19:28 GMT, 19 April 2012 | UPDATED: 19:28 GMT, 19 April 2012
The CBI on Thursday opened another front to pin down the tainted chief of the state-run Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) who has already been neck deep in trouble for the multi-crore military truck scandal.
The sleuths registered a case of corruption against BEML chairman and managing director VRS Natarajan for irregularities in engaging the services of a consultancy firm to implement an enterprises resource planning project.
It's a parallel case that the CBI was probing apart from the primary inquiry into the BEML-Tatra trucks deal. Agency sleuths said after exhaustive raids at Natarajan's houses and offices that they were probing the new case.
A BEML spokesperson also made it clear the raids were not connected with the truck deal. 'A case against the BEML CMD and a director of a Coimbatore based company has been registered under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Searches are being carried out in the offices and residential premises of the accused,' a CBI statement said. The agency said the company in question was Astral Consulting Ltd in Coimbatore.
CBI officials added that Natarajan and the promoters of Astral connived to defraud the public sector undertaking through irregularities in the tendering process for hiring a consultancy to implement the enterprises resource planning project. 'It was alleged that the accused persons were party to a criminal conspiracy in Bangalore and other places during 2004-2009 to cheat BEML through work relating to the implementation of the enterprises resource planning project. This caused wrongful loss to the PSU (BEML) and wrongful gain to others,' the CBI said. The investigating agency, which interrogated Natarajan throughout the day, said the raids were based on credible information.
The CBI booked Natarajan and Astral director C.S. Srivatsan under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, besides Sections 13(2) and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Sources said the CBI could pull a few more rabbits as it goes through the load of complaints against Natarajan. However, the officials refused to divulge details. Apart from the BEML chief, the CBI on Thursday questioned Brig. (retd) P.C. Das, Col (retd) Anil Datta and Anil Mansharamani for their role in the Tatra scam. Their homes were raided the day before.
Mansharamani, a Tatra employee, was said to be regularly in touch with the two former army officers who were suspected to have lobbied for Tatra using their clout in the army. Sources said they were questioned for their links with the UKbased Tatra Sipox and its owner Ravi Rishi. The Tatra controversy erupted in full force after the army chief, Gen. V. K. Singh, said last month that a retired Lt-Gen. had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore to clear the purchase of 600 substandard Tatra trucks.
It was suspected later that the officer in question was Lt-Gen. (retd) Tejinder Singh. Since then, the BEML-Tatra deal has come under intense scrutiny.
Read more: CBI could pull a few more rabbits

Tatra Spectra: ESM scumbags need to be rested

18 Apr 2012 04:04:09 PM IST
Tatra truck deal case: CBI raids two places in Noida
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Wednesday conducted search operations at the homes of two former army officers in Delhi and Noida and recovered key documents related to its probe into alleged irregularities in the procurement of Tatra trucks, sources said.
CBI sources said searches were also being conducted at the residence of an official of the Britain-based Vectra group that supplies the all-terrain heavy duty Tatra trucks to the Indian Army through defence public sector undertaking Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML).
The sources said raids were conducted at the homes of Brig (retd) P.C. Das in Delhi and Col (retd) Anil Datta in Noida. Searches were also conducted at the home of Vectra employee Anil Mansaramani.
The sources said three teams of CBI sleuths conducted the searches that began early Wednesday morning. Some crucial documents expected to help in investigating the scam-tainted truck deal have been found, the sources claimed.
The CBI search operations come a day after the agency questioned three people, including former BEML director V. Mohan, the company's present chief V.R.S. Natarajan and Vectra group chief Ravinder Rishi, in connection with alleged lapses in the supply of Tatra trucks.
Tatra is a Czech manufacturer and owned by Britain's Vectra that supplies truck parts to BEML.
BEML assembles the trucks and sells them off to the army. Some 7,000 Tatra trucks have been bought by the army since 1986.
Army chief Gen V.K. Singh blew the lid off the alleged scam after he alleged in March that he'd been offered a Rs.14 crore bribe to clear a deal for supplying sub-standard Tatra trucks.
The army in a March 5 press release took the names of Tatra and BEML, alleging that Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh had offered a bribe on behalf of Tatra and Vectra.
The agency was probing why BEML decided to procure Tatra parts from Tatra Sipox (Britain), a private company, from 1997 when it was doing so through Omnipol (a state-owned unit in Czech Republic) since 1986.
The sources said CBI was trying to find out why BEML officials signed an agreement with Tatra Sipox (Britain) in a hurried manner June 14, 1997 in Bangalore, three days after they had a meeting with the firm and its associate companies' officials in Slovakia.
One more company, Venus Projects Ltd., in which Rishi allegedly has some stakes, was under the CBI scanner as he allegedly used it for purchasing spare parts for Tatra trucks, they said.
Tatra deal: CBI raids ex-Army officers' houses
The CBI team raided the residence of Anil Mansharamani, A-23, Sector 36 a businessman and also searched the house of Mr. O.P. Dutta a resident of C-75, Sector 30 whom the CBI suspect to be involved in the multi crore rupees deal.
Tatra a multi crore scam
Comment: CBI should make less noise and arrest the culprits before evidence vanishes... once the ExServicemen turns approver the main criminal mastermind can be nailed.

Tatra Drama- spinning a web- CBI remains clueless!

CBI set to examine BEML chief Natrajan in Tatra deal
Rajesh Ahuja, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, April 14, 2012
Comments
Anil: I think you are correct. Just a drama will be inacted since if they catch one that will lead to another and that into another and so on. Just see how this 2G - Raja- Chidu drama is gping! In any civilised and true democracy these people will. E behind bar together not one (if at all) after another.
Arvind: This Rishi guys is running a paper company in England for making invoice and documents, His partners will all be Indian netas and babus and the hat B**stard the BEML chief, who himself declared the vehicles fit because the thought he was the ARMY CHIEF. That man and this Rishi are traitors and must be tried for treason in National Defense matters.
click here to read more comments and CBI

Money laundering case filed against Tatra

Money laundering case filed against Tatra
NDTV Correspondent | Updated: April 13, 2012 19:49 IST
NDTV Correspondent | Updated: April 13, 2012 19:49 IST
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case against Tatra. The ED is investigating if Tatra sold its trucks to the Army at 'overpriced' prices. The Army has bought 7000 Tatra trucks since 1986.
Army Chief General VK Singh had disclosed last month that he was offered a bribe to clear "sub-standard" trucks, which brought the Tatra deals with the Army under scanner.
Tatra is a Czech-manufacturer. It is owned by Vectra, a London-based company, which supplies parts to a defence-run public sector unit, BEML, based in Bangalore. The trucks are assembled at BEML and sold to the Army.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also pursuing two different cases on the Tatra deals. One relates to the purchase of the 7000 trucks. The other looks at a new consignment of more than 700 trucks that Vectra was allegedly trying to push through. In the former, the CBI has allegedly been granted permission by the Defence Ministry to prosecute VRS Natarajan, the chairman of BEML.
Mr Natarajan has denied that he has ever received complaints about either the acquisition or the performance of Tatra trucks. He said he could not understand why the Army Chief might think of them as as "sub-standard".
Money laundering case filed against Tatra
Comment: BEML Chief is a seasoned scamster with 10 years experience in driving the Tatra into murky waters. He needs to be adminstered the truth pill for him to sing, because the case is too complicated for the CBI to decipher when the Home Minister is dangling his sword of damocles over their heads.

2G Scam: Presidential Reference for clarity on scams?

Click Link: 2G case: Government files presidential reference in Supreme Court
Reported by Sunil Prabhu | Updated: April 12, 2012 16:59 IST
Comments

Chellappa Narayanan
Govt is to be blamed for not following transparent policy by inviting open bids/ tenders in selling scarce national resources. Now the Govt is referring through President to Supreme Court seeking clarifications. Supreme Court has given a landmark judgement in 2G scam which has instilled more confidence to public about judiciary. Political class must realise that they are to serve the people and not themselves. Will the Govt now realise and take corrective action?

Amit Srivastava 2 hours ago
Money talks , look at the high speed with which the government machinery is moving to bring relief to big players, faster then 4G :)

Shilpa Manocha 4 hours ago
What govt is doing is correct but why does such a process take such less time to complete than any other bill or case. This gives rise to other questions as to whether the pressure is being built up by the politicians who had were involved in this scam or not.

Payments from BEML actually goes to a Tax Haven

Tatra deal: CBI summons BEML officials
by FP Staff Apr 9, 2012
The CBI has summoned several Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) officials in connection with alleged irregularities in the procurement of Tatra trucks for the Indian army. The summons comes on the back of several raids on BEML offices over the past week.
Earlier the CBI revealed that it was looking into payments made by defence PSU BEML to Tatra Sipox UK for the supply of all-terrain trucks, and said it would send a judicial request to the United Kingdom seeking details of its financial transactions and ownerships.
The Tatra deal has been under the CBI scanner: Reuters
The agency suspects that payments from BEML were actually going to a tax haven, CBI sources said, adding that they are probing into it but added that the investigations are in preliminary stage.
And according to an Army whistle blower, Brigadier (Retd) Inder Mohan Singh, asking questions with regards to the BEML – Sipox deal was a big no- no.
The Brigadier said that he wrote in to ask for details of the price of the trucks, and for copies of the transfer of technology agreement in 2003. The very next day, he had a surprise visitor waiting in his office.
“At 9 o clock, when my office had barely opened, a BEML officer was sitting in my office,” Brig IM Singh told CNN-IBN. “He said, ‘Sir, marwadiya sabko’ (You’ve killed everyone).”
Asked what he meant, the visitor confided: ‘The letter you faxed yesterday will create a lot of trouble.”
If anything, it was Brig IM Singh who found himself in trouble. His letter, making enquiries about the deal, was cancelled, and he was transferred out of the Equipment Branch.
“The biggest middlemen and the biggest agents are the defence PSUs,” he says. “They do not manufacture anything on their own.”
Defence journalist Ajai Shukla too says that the “real story” in the Tatra case isn’t about the performance of the trucks or about the Czech company. “It is a story that plays out day after day how the defence PSUs – like BEML in this case – take the entire system for a ride as a result of their proximity to the Ministry of Defence.”
What BEML has done, says Shukla, is that it has bought the equipment in knocked down condition overseas, assembled it in India, added in a heavy mark-up in price, forgotten entirely about its promise of indigenisation and sold the trucks to the army at almost twice the price it bought it at.
Meanwhile the BJP has questioned the government on as to why it continued dealing with Vectra head Ravi Rishi despite doubts being raised about the company.
Tatra deal: CBI summons BEML officials

AK Antony okayed Ravi Rishi's prosecution

Tatra trucks case: AK Antony okayed Ravi Rishi's prosecution in February
Devesh Kumar, ET Bureau Apr 7, 2012, 05.24AM IST
Tags:Tatra truck|Sonia Gandhi|Ravi Rishi|PIO|Ghulam Nabi Azad|General VK Singh|Defence|Army Chief|AK Antony
NEW DELHI: Defence minister AK Antony had sanctioned prosecution of Ravi Rishi, the London-based PIO who is an accused in the case of alleged irregularities in the purchase of Tatra trucks, a little over four weeks before the Army chief, General VK Singh, went public with his allegation that he had been offered a bribe of 14 crore for clearing "a tranche of 600 sub-standard vehicles".
General Singh, who leveled this allegation in an interview to a leading national daily on March 24, also pointed out that 7,000 of those sub-standard vehicles were already in use in the Army and had been sold over the years at exorbitant prices.
The bribery charge triggered an uproar in Parliament, forcing Antony to order a CBI probe into it. But what he failed to mention that he had already sanctioned the prosecution of Rishi, the owner of Vectra group, on February 21 this year. His action came in response to a letter forwarded to him by Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was in charge of Congress' affairs in Karnataka, in October, 2009.
The letter, which was redirected by Antony to defence production secretary on the same day, had travelled a long way. It was written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in August, 2009, by D Hanumanthappa, president of the Karnataka branch of the All India Federation of SC/ST/Backward Classes and Minority Employees Welfare Association, and highlighted the charge that BEML CMD VRS Natarajan had placed an order worth 6,000 crore for the purchase of Tatra trucks from a British agent and, not from the original equipment manufacturer, which was, he alleged, a violation of procurement guidelines.
On its receipt, Sonia is said to have marked the letter to Azad, who was in charge of the party's affairs in Karnataka. The latter is learnt to have forwarded it to the defence minister. Antony, it now transpires, sent it to the defence production secretary for an internal probe into the bribery charge the day he received it from Azad.
After conducting an inquiry on his own, the defence production secretary, it is learnt, reported to Antony that a case could indeed be made out against Ravi Rishi who, contrary to initial media reports, was not an NRI, but a person of Indian origin (PIO) settled in London.
The case was subsequently referred to CBI, which registered a preliminary enquiry into the allegations. As it was aware of the contours of the case, the probe agency swung into action after it came to know that Rishi was planning to undertake a trip to India to participate in Defexpo India 2012, the country's biggest-ever land, naval and homeland security systems exhibition, which was inaugurated by Antony on March 29.
CBI registered an FIR into the case on March 20 and, two days later, it issued a lookout notice to prevent Rishi from leaving the country. He has already been grilled by the investigating agency at least six times since then.
Tatra trucks case: AK Antony okayed Ravi Rishi's prosecution in February

BEML Chairman drives Tatra Truck into muddy waters

DNA exclusive: Gen hit it right on the bonnet when he said Tatra trucks unfit
Published: Monday, Apr 2, 2012, 9:30 IST
By Gangadhar S Patil & Sandeep Pai | Place: Mumbai
Army chief General VK Singh was right. Not only are Tatra trucks substandard but they are also overpriced.
VRS Natarajan, chairman and managing director of BEML, on Friday had rubbished whatever the general had said about Tatra trucks. But documents with DNA show that BEML officials knew that Tatra Sipox (UK) had been fleecing the country over the years by supplying outdated trucks.
Ever since Gen Singh alleged on March 26 that a retired lieutenant general had offered him a bribe of Rs14 crore to “clear the tranche [purchase of 600 substandard Tatra-all-terrain vehicles]”, skeletons have been tumbling out, pitting the army against the defence ministry and BEML.
Of the several letters and notes exchanged between BEML and Tatra Sipox (UK) Ltd to finalise a new agreement on transfer of technology in 2008-09, it is clear that the UK company dictated the price at which the PSU would buy the trucks.
Each time Tatra Sipox sent the agreement to BEML for signature, mid-level officials of the PSU rejected it on several grounds. In fact, they even demanded that Tatra Sipox supply the latest versions of the trucks, which the company had not done in the past.
In 2003, Tatra Sipox had accepted that it had provided outdated models of Tatra trucks and formally agreed to provide the latest versions. When the agreement came up for renewal in 2008, however, it was back to square one.
Replying to Tatra Sipox’s draft agreement, a BEML official pointed out in December 2008: “Tatra Sipox (UK) Ltd have cunningly once again omitted references to the previous understandings/agreements.”
The UK company, in fact, chose to keep the terms of the agreement vague so that it could continue supplying outdated versions of the truck. The draft had no specifics of the trucks to be supplied. The agreement proposed by Tatra Sipox is “one-sided and does not cover” BEML’s interests, one letter from the PSU stated.
In the draft, Tatra Sipox kept its option of supplying trucks compliant with Euro I or II or III standards open. That meant it could also supply trucks compliant with Euro I norms. BEML officials, however, insisted on engines compliant with Euro III and IV standards. It noted that the “purchase of Euro II engines would not be viable because Euro IV emission standards are in vogue across the world” and automobile companies were moving towards Euro V standards.
A former BEML employee told DNA that “Tatra Sipox wanted to keep the agreement vague so that they could keep supplying Euro II engines”. It also meant that the company could charge extra for upgrading the engines.
The matter did not end with old models; Tatra Sipox kept increasing the price according to its convenience. A November 25, 2008, letter from a BEML official commented on the agreement: “Tatra Sipox (UK) Ltd is well known for its unjustified demand for increase in prices”. It went on to list a few examples. “Of late, the UK company has been insisting on steep increase in prices of completely knocked down (CKD) kits and spare parts.” Tatra Sipox had drafted a clause that would provide it with room for “demanding additional money”, the letter said. “[This] need not be agreed to. We must be satisfied with the adequacy of technical support and there need not be any room for negotiating further course of action.”
Clik here for the explosive report

What is the status of Serious Fraud Probe into ESM job scam?

Serious fraud probe' into ex-servicemen job scam
New Delhi (IANS): The Defence Ministry handed over the probe into a job racket for ex-servicemen to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in the Corporate Affairs Ministry. Several senior officers of the Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) have been found guilty in an internal inquiry.
Serious fraud probe' into ex-servicemen job scam

The information given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Harishchandra Chavan in Lok Sabha in 2010: Click here for ESM status and Statistics

Comment: Most of the ESM schemes are mired in corruption and scams. One example is Tamilnadu Ex Servicemen Corporation which continues to employ civilian fakes as Ex Servicemen for manning parking lots.

Cancelled telecom licenses: Impact on consumers, economy

2G Spectrum Scam- 122 Licenses cancelled- Corrupt Communication Corporates in the Dock
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: February 02, 2012 13:26 IST
New Delhi: India is the world's second-largest telecom market in terms of subscribers - it has 900 million subscribers. So far, the telecom sector has been crowded with more than a dozen players. Call rates in India among the lowest in the world.

Now that the Supreme Court has cancelled 122 licenses, here is a quick look at the likely impact.

EFFECT ON TELECOM SECTOR
Verdict to shake up India's fragmented telecom market
To lead to consolidation in the telecom sector
Non-serious, weak players will be weeded out
Spectrum to be linked to market prices and auctioned
Established players like Bharti, Vodafone, and Idea to benefit
Policy uncertainty for the telecom sector as the judgement is studied and evaluated

EFFECT ON CONSUMERS
Telecom rates to go up in long run as spectrum will be auctioned

EFFECT ON ECONOMY
Auction of spectrum will lead to another financial windfall for government
2G telecom auction may help plug government's fiscal deficit
May further dampen business climate and investor sentiment
Bad news for foreign investors in telecom, may further impact FDI
Read more at: Cancelled telecom licenses: Impact on consumers, economy

Comment: The Supreme Court verdict is historical and could be forerunner to the Strong Lokpal Bill. The citizens need to go after the black Money and Swiss Secret Acounts. Politicians who are criminalising the citizens must find their rightful place in the Jail!

Citizen's Right to Fight Corruption is Constitutional
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has today said that the right to file a complaint against a public servant under Prevention of Corruption Act is a constitutional right. The two judges also faulted the Prime Minister's office not taking appropriate action when Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy wrote in, asking for then telecom minister A Raja to be tried for corruption. Here are five big facts on this story: Click here