NEWSLINKS US EDITION COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Senior army officers, including Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen S S Mehta, in-charge of armament purchases and Lt Gen J S Dhillon, Master General of Ordinance, may be asked to depose before the Army's high-level court of inquiry into the Tehelka expose, which opens formal proceedings on Monday.
While General Mehta, a highly decorated armoured corp officer, may be asked to depose as he is the immediate superior of Maj Gen P S K Chaudhary, the officer shown as accepting money in the sensational Tehelka tapes, Gen Dhillon may be questioned as he heads the ordnance corp, five of whose officers are in the dock.
The sources said Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi may also be asked to make a statement before the three-member court of inquiry, headed by Lt Gen S K Jain.
Gen Oberoi heads the tainted Equipment and Weapons Establishment at the Army Headquarters. Others who may be asked to depose include Lt Gen Shankar Prasad, Director General, Infantry, whose name figures in the tapes.
The court of inquiry will begin proceedings in the backdrop of Army Chief Gen S Padmanabhan's warning to deal sternly with the guilty.
The terms of reference of the inquiry would be to seek whether there had been any deviation from the well laid down procedure related to armament purchases and also probe whether the Tehelka tapes amount to breach of security at Army Headquarters and the crucial Weapons and Equipment Directorate, the sources said.
They said the inquiry would also suggest a new system to make procurement of arms and weapons systems more transparent.
Four other officers who were filmed in the web portal sting - Maj Gen M S Ahluwalia, Additional Director General Ordinance Services, his predecessor Maj Gen Satnam Singh, who is posted in Leh, Brig Iqbal Singh, Prospective Procurement Officer and Col Anil Sehgal, former Director in the Ordinance Services - have submitted written statements, the sources said.
All of them have, in their statements, not disputed being approached by the Tehelka team but have denied receiving any bribes in cash, they said.
The four, who were on leave when the controversy broke out, have reported back on duty at Army Headquarters and have been attached without any work, pending the inquiry, the sources said.
PTI
The Complete Coverage | Defence sites
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
