NEW DELHI: Former Defence Minister AK Antony on Wednesday appeared before Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court and was cross-examined in connection with the CBI’s case concerning the Tatra trucks corruption case.
As per the sources, deposing before the court during cross-examination Antony said that he was shocked why General V K Singh didn’t complain about the incident of him being offered a bribe unlike in other cases like Adarsh Scam where he used to write to the Defence Minister about such incidents.
Antony, during the cross-examination, also said that V K Singh did not show him any diary entry or audio recording pertaining to the said offer of a bribe. As per the allegations in the CBI charge sheet it was in the month of August-September 2010, the file pertaining to the procurement of 1,676 Tatra vehicles was pending before V K Singh, who is now a Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Civil Aviation.
The then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) had doubts about the total projected requirement of the vehicles which appeared to him that the requirement had been inflated, as per the CBI, VK Singh sought fresh opinion on the issue from different quarters.
As per the CBI Tejinder Singh met VK Singh in his office in South Block on 22 September 2010, and during the meeting, he offered a bribe of `14 crore to VK Singh for clearing the file of Tatra vehicles by first week of October. Infuriated VK Singh had asked Tejinder Singh to immediately leave his office and he, thereafter, had intimated Antony about the whole incident of bribe being offered to him, the CBI had said.