BHOPAL: A company believed to be associated with Turkish defence firm Asisguard, which manufactured the Songar armed drones used by Pakistan against India after the launch of Operation Sindoor, has come under the scanner of authorities in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.
An inquiry has been ordered against Asis Elektronik, which has been taking care of the ticket fare collection for the 11.5 km-long Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) in Indore, MP's most populated city, since 2019.
This is the second time in three days in the state that a probe has been ordered against the Turkish company – which also holds the Rs 230 crore contract for automatic fare collection systems in the upcoming Bhopal and Indore metro railway projects.
On May 19, a similar probe had been ordered into the operations of the company by the state’s urban development and housing minister Kailash Vijayvargiya.
“It has come to my notice that the company performing the work of ticket fare collection of the BRTS in Indore is named Asis Elektronik. It’s also being said that the company is directly associated with the Turkish company which supplied armed drones to Pakistan for use against India after the launch of Operation Sindoor. A probe has been ordered to establish the relationship between Asis Elektronik and the company (Asisguard) which supplied armed drones to Pakistan to strike at Indian targets. If the probe establishes any type of association between the two companies, then their association with the BRTS should be immediately terminated,” Indore mayor and BJP leader Pushyamitra Bhargava said on Thursday.
“This company has been working in a joint venture with another company on the ticket fare revenue collection system of BRTS Indore since 2016. The ordered enquiry will probe all aspects, spanning from when work order was given to what was the system of their revenue collection. We can’t allow any firm or company which is directly or indirectly related to forces against our national security, to thrive on our resources,” he said.
“This BRTS Indore related issue apart, it is being widely reported that citizens of our country have decided against touring Turkey, due to its partnership with Pakistan against India. If the citizens are doing it out of patriotism, it's our duty also to find out whether use of Turkish technology in our infrastructure projects is hurting Indian interests socially or economically,” the Indore mayor added.
These developments come just a few days after the revocation of the security clearance of Turkish aviation giant Celebi Airport Services, which was managing ground handling operations at nine major Indian airports including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. These operations have since been reassigned to Indian firms. The Delhi High Court had rejected the company’s petition for relief with a stern "better safe than sorry" response.