NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered three Preliminary Enquiries (PE) relating to defence deals finalised during the previous National Democratic Alliance regime, and one PE as a fall out of the Tehelka tapes. One case relates to the purchase of spares for 155mm Bofors gun during `Operation Vijay' in 1999 when Kargil incursions took place place.

According to one PE registered by the CBI on Saturday, a contract was concluded on August 24, 1999, with Celsius System of Sweden for the supply of 489 items of spares for the 155mm Field Howitzer guns costing Rs. 97.65 crores. The spares were procured to meet the urgent requirement of the Army to maintain the guns and the then Defence Minister was the Competent Final Authority (CFA).

The PE said that out of the Rs. 97.65 crores, Rs. 75.08 crores was to be adjusted towards the recovery of exuded HE107 shells supplied earlier by the original supplier of these guns. "Audit scrutiny revealed that the rates incorporated in the contract were much higher than the rates offered by the firm in June 1999, which were valid on the date of the contract, which resulted in additional expenditure of Rs. 6.73 crores," the PE said. It noted the audit objection saying that the Ministry did not give any reason for allowing the higher rates.

The CBI alleged that the contract for purchase of Bofors gun spares was "poorly negotiated" and the Ministry reportedly issued amendments to the contract thus causing an additional burden of Rs. 9.61 crores to the exchequer.

The parts sought by the Defence Ministry included Distribution Box power unit, Torque Motor, Pump, Pressure Vessel, Cylinder, Suspension Unit, Laying Valve, Control Panel C 31, Rammer, Brush Kit and Levelling Device.

The PE said: "Such slipshod scrutiny of the contract and poor negotiations could not yield any operational advantage as the spares could not materialise before March 2000 and November 2000. Since there is no explanation offered to the incriminating points made and since the rates incorporated in the contract were much higher than the rates offered by the firm in June 1999 (that resulted in an additional expenditure of Rs. 6.73 crores), the acts of omission and commission on the part of the concerned unknown public servants and others responsible for this call for a probe."

Audit objections cited

CBI sources said the Government had referred 23 cases arising out of Operation Vijay, citing audit objections and 14 cases as a fall out of the Tehelka tapes making allegations of corruption in defence deals. While three preliminary enquiries have been registered out of 23 cases, one has been registered in the reported deal of hand-held thermal imagers as brought out by the Tehelka tapes. The three cases pertain to the purchase of Kolos tyres, woollen socks and spares for 155mm Howitzers. Sources said that nobody has been named in the preliminary enquiries and only "unknown officials of Defence Ministry and Army headquarters" have been cited in the column against accused but the Government complaint refers to some defence dealers and middlemen.

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