File photo of Lieutenant General (retired) Tejinder Singh
Former Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh was taken into custody today after a court in Delhi rejected his bail plea in connection with the Tatra truck deal case. Lt Gen Singh is accused of allegedly offering a bribe to former Army Chief General (retired) VK Singh for clearing a tranche of "sub-standard" Tatra trucks for the force.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Madhu Jain dismissed the bail plea of Tejinder Singh and ordered that he be taken into custody.
Tejinder Singh appeared in the court after summons were issued against him on August 28.
The court, while taking cognizance of the charge sheet filed against him, relied upon the statement of prosecution witnesses, former defence minister AK Antony, General VK Singh and others. It said there was sufficient evidence to take cognizance of the offence.
Earlier, Mr Antony had admitted that General VK Singh had informed him about the bribe offered by Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh for clearing the trucks' purchase file, the CBI said.
On July 15, the CBI had filed a charge sheet against Tejinder Singh following General VK Singh's allegation that he offered bribe over irregularities in the import of heavy-duty Tatra trucks for the army.
In March 2012, General VK Singh had alleged that Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh had offered him Rs. 14 crore for clearing a tranche of Tatra trucks.
He alleged that Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh met him Aug-Sep 2010, and offered him the money on behalf of Vectra Group chief Ravi Rishi to clear the file for procurement of 1,676 Tatra HMVs (High Mobility Vehicles) for the army.
The CBI filed a case against Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh in October 2012.