The Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged irregularities in the purchase of Israeli Barak missile systems has pointed a finger at a former navy vice chief, with the agency saying in its FIR that he had ignored the Defence Research Development Organisation's objections to the deal.
Without naming the vice chief, the CBI alleged in its FIR that he had overlooked objections to the deal from A K Kapur, the former director of the DRDO's Trishul missile project. The FIR said an "inquiry has revealed that Dr A K Kapur, former project director of Trishul Project, was member of the joint team of the navy and DRDO for witnessing live demonstration of the Barak anti-missile defence system in Israel".
Kapur wrote a letter dated August 8, 2000 to the chief of the price negotiation committee, who was the then navy vice chief, stating that the formal evaluation task was not assigned to the team that visited Israel in 1995.
The vice chief in 2000 was Vice Admiral P J Jacob. He retired the following year. "He (Kapur) further wrote that a more comprehensive system evaluation was required before procurement of subject quantity. Objection and suggestions of Dr A K Kapur were not given due consideration," the FIR said.
The FIR said the contract price for purchasing seven Barak systems was about 17 million dollars higher than the un-negotiated price offered in early 1996 by the supplier. The FIR claimed former Samata Party treasurer R K Jain had confessed that former defence minister Goerge Fernandes and then party chief Jaya Jaitley got three per cent of the contract cost as commission while he was given 0.5 per cent.
The CBI has registered a FIR against Fernandes and Jaitley for alleged corruption in the Rs 1,150-crore Barak deal.
"Fernandes wanted the proposals to be initiated from below and he eventually overruled the learned opinion of the then scientific advisor to the defence minister in order to favour Israel Aircraft Industries and others," the CBI alleged.
The agency said President A P J Abdul Kalam, who was then the scientific advisor, had "strongly opposed" the proposal made in 1999 by then navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar to import two surface-to-air missiles but Fernandes "overruled" this view and gave the go-ahead.
"The then defence minister (Fernandes) overruled the opinion of the then scientific advisor to the defence minister... against import of any missile system and gave a go-ahead to the proposal of Sushil Kumar on June 28, 1999," said the FIR filed before the designated court in New Delhi.
The defence ministry put up a note to then Defence Secretary T R Prasad, who in turn mentioned that the CCS had returned proposals on acquiring some precision-guided missiles and it decided to defer the proposals to be considered by next government. "Despite this note of the defence secretary, Fernandes wrote back on September 3, 1999 that installation of the Barak system on the INS fleet was absolutely essential and therefore, the CCS might be apprised of the urgency of requirement and to seek its approval," the FIR said.
The inquiry has revealed that the CCS note with DRDO's objections with respect to two of its paragraphs was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security on March 2, 2000 and the contract was signed on October 23, 2000 for purchasing seven Barak systems.
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