Army chief seeks more time for detailed bribery complaint

Army chief Gen V K Singh has sought a few more days to file his detailed complaint in connection with the alleged bribe offer from a senior retired officer to clear a tranche of nearly 600 "sub-standard" trucks.

Gen Singh, who has named retired Lt Gen Tejinder Singh as the person who had allegedly made the offer, in his initial complaint, has been asked by the Central Bureau of Investigation officials to give a detailed complaint about the issue.

The army chief has now written to the CBI saying he requires some more days to give a comprehensive complaint to the agency about the incident, CBI sources said.

Gen Singh had claimed in media interviews that an equipment lobbyist had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore to clear the tranche, a matter that he had reported to Defence Minister A K Antony. The ministry had then recommended a CBI probe into the allegation.

The agency had started examining the complaint received from Gen Singh on March 30 and may question Tejinder Singh in connection with the case, they said.

Tejinder Singh has refuted the allegations. He has also filed a defamation case against the Army chief and other officers.

CBI was waiting for a formal complaint from Gen Singh regarding details of alleged bribe offer, to initiate a formal probe into the matter referred to it by the defence ministry.

For Rediff Realtime News click here