No solid evidence in Army Chief`s bribery charge so far

The CBI is still trying to find a clinching evidence on the basis of which it could register a case.

New Delhi: The CBI is still trying to find a clinching evidence on the basis of which it could register a case in the complaint filed by Army Chief General V K Singh alleging that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by a former officer to clear supply of a tranche of Tatra trucks.

As of now, the CBI has registered a Preliminary Enquiry against retired Lt Gen Tejinder Singh on a complaint filed by the Army Chief in which he has alleged that the retired Army officer had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore for clearing a `sub-standard` consignment of Tatra trucks.

Sources in the agency said although Gen Singh has provided some crucial material which include Record of Discussion maintained by his office, to corroborate his allegations but it is not sufficient to register a regular case.

They said the Record of Discussion which documents the happenings of September 22, 2010 in the Army Chief`s Office when the alleged bribe offer was made is a strong evidence but some more material is needed to prove alleged links of Tejinder Singh with Tatra or BEML.

Sources said it is very important to get that evidence to prove that alleged offer made by Tejinder Singh to Gen Singh was a genuine offer.

The CBI is now trying to find some evidence which could link Tejinder Singh with Tatra or BEML after which it could register a regular case in the case else the PE may be closed in the want of evidence, they said.

They said although the Army Chief had informed Defence Minister A K Antony about the incident he has been asked as to why he took one and a half years to reach CBI.

PTI

Zee News App: Read latest news of India and world, bollywood news, business updates, cricket scores, etc. Download the Zee news app now to keep up with daily breaking news and live news event coverage.