IAF blamed for security breach at Srinagar airport

Saleem Pandit.

The J&K police on Monday blamed the Indian Air Force personnel for the breach of security that led to two youths driving up to the tarmac of the highly protected airport here. The duo had taken their vehicle to the runway in the technical area, declared out of bounds even for VVIPs except for the President and the Prime Minister.

The youths- Parvaiz Ahmad Dar and Mudasir Ahmad Mir of Handwara in Kupwara district- entered the heavily guarded airport on May 9 around 3pm through Rangreth gate, manned by IAF personnel, SP (Budgam), Uttam Chand, said. “However, we let off them off a day later after being convinced that they had no intention to cause any harm,” he said.

While IAF officials refused to comment on the security lapse, the defence spokesperson of Northern Command said the army had asked for a report from those who were on security duty at the technical area at that time.

The vehicle was spotted near the runway by men from the anti-hijacking squad of J&K police soon after a flight from Delhi landed, SP (anti-hijacking squad), Abdul Rashid, said. “During questioning, the duo said they had entered through the military gate not knowing the entrance to the passenger terminal. We had handed them over along with their guests- Khalid Farooq Bhat and Mohammad Shafi Bhat- to police,” he said.

“We let them off the next day after finding them innocent and that they had entered the restricted area out of ignorance,” the Budgam SP said.

But intelligence officials didn’t rule out the youths having feigned ignorance and questioned their release without a thorough probe. They said Parvaiz and Mudasir are doing an aviation course in New Delhi and it seemed unlikely that the two would not have known the entry to civil terminal through the Humhama area. Their driving up to the tarmac raised eyebrows.

IAF officials confirmed that the duo had deposited their identity cards and driving licence at the gate while entering the airport.

via The Times of India.

Dismissed Wing Commander says Air Chief’s orders illegal

Vijay Mohan.

Dismissed from the Air Force by a general court martial (GCM) for allegedly demanding and accepting illegal gratification, a wing commander has challenged the proceedings against him on the grounds that certain orders passed by the Air Chief in his case were legally unsustainable.

In his petition that came up for hearing before the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal today, the officer, Wg Cdr Alok Kumar has also contended several procedural irregularities in the conduct of the court of inquiry and the subsequent trial by the GCM.

Issuing notice to the Central government and other concerned, the Bench has ordered an interim stay on the execution of the GCM verdict.

A GCM presided by Gp Capt MG Shetty had held the officer, Wg Cdr Alok Kumar, guilty on four of the eight charges of demanding and accepting illegal gratification from delegates of Dassault International during Aero India 2011 at Bangalore.

The GCM’s finding and sentence are yet to be confirmed by the court’s convening authority.

Dassault’s representative Posina V Rao had lodged a complaint with the authorities against the officer. According to the petition, it was an oral complaint and nothing in written had been forwarded to the IAF authorities.

Dassault’s Rafale fighter had emerged as the top contender for the IAF’s contract for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft, the advance contract negotiations for which are under way.

Later, the Chief of the Air Staff ordered the GCM to reassemble and record brief reasons in support of its findings. Last year, the IAF had issued orders that all GCMs are required to record reasons in support of their findings vis-à-vis the charges. This practice has been continuing in the Army for a long time.

The petitioner has also contended that the Air Chief’s order is opposed to law and the matter could not have been sent back to the GCM only for the purpose of recording its reasons in support of its findings.

He has claimed that it was erroneous for the confirming authority to only seek substitution of reasons in support of its case, which has led to miscarriage of justice.

via The Tribune, Chandigarh

Ayurvedic treatment in defence forces just for select few

J Gopikrishnan.

The armed forces misled the Delhi High Court last year by claiming on affidavit that Ayurvedic treatment was not approved within the services.

The affidavit, filed by the Director-General of Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) came on a PIL seeking the court’s directive for reimbursement of treatment expenses of a NSG commando PV Manesh, wounded in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

The fact remains that the Army has Ayurved Kendras in its base hospitals at Delhi, Pune and Jamnagar, and its top officers are known to avail of Ayurvedic treatments even in private hospitals.

In June 2012, DGAFMS told the Delhi High Court that no system of medicine, except for the Allopathic system of medicine, was approved in the forces. “Introduction of a pluralistic system of medicine in the armed forces is likely to create various issues and needs to be addressed appropriately. The issue of introduction of Indian Systems of Medicine in the Armed Forces has repeatedly been considered and not agreed to due to valid scientific reasons,” the DGAFMS said in the affidavit.

Detailing its objections, the forces told the High Court that Indian systems of medicine were not auditable. The affidavit also said that the introduction of other systems of medicines may lead to “infectious diseases, which may jeopardize the health and well-being of his fellow colleagues.”

The affidavit told the Court that this decision was taken after consultations with the Defence Ministry and the chiefs of the three services.

However, documents and medical prescriptions sourced by The Pioneer show that the forces misled the High Court.

The Health Ministry’s annual appraisal documents show that on January 25, 2004, the first Ayurved Kendra was inaugurated by Defence Secretary Ajay Prasad at the Army Base Hospital in Delhi Cantonment. Another Ayurved Kendra was opened in the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune subsequently. Moreover, in collaboration with Gujarat Ayurved University, satellite ayurved clinics are functioning at the units of the Army and the Navy in Valsura, Jamnagar.

“The establishment of the Ayurvedic Center at the Army Base Hospital is a pioneering step to integrate Ayurvedic and modern medicines in the armed forces. The venture will provide convergence of two different medical systems and enable holistic healthcare and patient-friendly treatment. With its herb-based, cost effective and culture friendly approach, the promotion and acceptance of Ayurveda, a branch of traditional medicine, scientifically and systematically documented for more than 5,000 years, is in keeping with the resurgence of interest in Ayurveda at the international level,” the Ministry of Defence had said in a statement regarding the Ayurved Kendra.

Prescriptions of doctors also show that several Generals, Admirals and their family members regularly use Ayurvedic medicines. On the other hand, the same officials have rejected the reimbursement bills of a wounded soldier, who squarely depends on Ayurvedic treatments. It is also a well-known fact that Defence Minister AK Antony has been taking Ayurvedic treatment for his spondylitis related problems for the last two decades.

Sources say that a strong lobby of doctors who practice the allopathic system of medicine in DGAFMS, is behind the move to file the misleading affidavit in the High Court.

The Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Defence Ministry and all three service chiefs in the first week of August 2011 on the basis of a report published in The Pioneer on July 20, 2011, revealing the plight of the NSG commando, who became paralyzed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

The PIL in this regard was filed by a Delhi-based Advocate Arjun Harkauli.

The commando PV Manesh, decorated with the Shaurya Chakra, was discharged from a Army hospital in a wheelchair and started walking after getting Ayurvedic treatment.

via The Pioneer

Ex IAF Chief was indeed bribed, CBI report says

Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi (retd)

Neeraj Chauhan.

The CBI’s initial investigations into the AgustaWestland scam has found that former IAF chief SP Tyagi was indeed bribed by middlemen around the same time – 2004-2005 – that his cousins were given money, highly placed sources said.

However, the bribe amount remains “unquantified” and CBI is also yet to find the trail of this money but the agency suspects that one of the middlemen of Finmeccanica brought the money to India. CBI sources said they will soon start questioning the accused people in the case after all the documents are analyzed.

Meanwhile, CBI has reportedly shared crucial documents with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) showing money trail of the alleged Rs 362 crore kickback in the VVIP chopper deal.

Officials said they had found several documents showing money paid to Tyagi’s cousins and they had to get hold of some bank papers. The agency has found that 1.26 lakh euros and another 2 lakh euros was paid to the Tyagi brothers (Julie, Docsa and Sandeep Tyagi) sometime in 2004, much before SP Tyagi became the IAF chief.

The Tyagis had claimed during questioning that this money was given to them by Guido Haschke as consultancy fee for some subsidiary of AgustaWestland, for which they provided their services. Subsequently, there was another transfer of 5.6 million euros to IDS Infotech and Aeromatrix, which came to the Tyagi brothers.

CBI sources said “there was another 30 million euros which was brought by Christian Michael to India, which is believed to be the part from where money could have been sent to SP Tyagi”. However, the agency is not sure about the route of money to SP Tyagi yet. “Most of the money was in cash except a few transfers. We are trying to figure out if money was given in cash to SP Tyagi or if it was invested somewhere in property or stashed in a bank,” a source said.

The agency had booked 13 persons including SP Tyagi, Satish Bagrodia (brother of former minister Santosh Bagrodia) and others in an FIR registered earlier this week. CBI has alleged that during the tenure of SP Tyagi and “with his approval”, the IAF “conceded to reduce the service ceiling for VVIP helicopters from 6000 meters to 4500 meters as mandatory to which it was opposing vehemently on the grounds of security constraints and other related reasons earlier,” agency sources said.

via The Times of India.

How arms dealer Abhishek Verma exploited top-secret defence information

Vishnu Som.

Through hundreds of documents now being investigated by the CBI, and accessed by NDTV, startling new details are emerging of how arms dealer Abhishek Verma, his wife Anca Neacsu, and their partners brazenly worked the system.

Emails that the CBI believes were written by Mr Verma reveal him accessing and exploiting top-secret defence information. He also claimed he was paying bribes to government officials, and had interactions with officials in the Defence Ministry and the Indian armed forces, to ensure that rifles, carbines and pistols manufactured by US defence manufacturer Sig Sauer were pushed onto shortlists for contracts worth millions of dollars.

NDTV cannot independently verify the authenticity of the emails.

NDTV reported earlier this week that the CBI says it has found evidence that a kickback of $50,000 was transferred by Sig Sauer through a matrix of front companies to Mr Verma. This bribe was meant for a government official referred to in emails by Mr Verma and his partners as “VIP.”

At stake was a multi-crore deal for sniper rifles for the Indian Army.

“VIP” was to be paid for removing an anonymous complaint filed against Sig Sauer’s 716 assault rifle. If that complaint had been recognized, Sig Sauer would have been blacklisted, making it ineligible for not just this deal, but for the billion dollar contract to replace the Army’s INSAS rifle, for which the manufacturer is still in the running.

In an email dated July 23 2011, Mr Verma told his associates that the anonymous compliant, received by the Defence Ministry, warned of audacious irregularities in how the SIG assault rifles had been conducted in the United States by Indian Army officers.

According to the complaint, SIG had hired a firing range for the trials but army officials did not reach it on time. Listing the contents of the compliant, Mr Verma writes, “The range wasn’t available the second day therefore firing was done at 300 metres distance and the same results were extrapolated for 800 meters and SIG weapon passed.”

Mr Verma tells his partners and wife that the complaint also said, “The officers who went to USA were looked after and 1 of the officer’s wife was taken shopping!”

The complainant said these malpractices meant that Sig Sauer should be dropped from the competition. Worried about the consequences, Mr Verma wrote if the defence official in charge “takes cognizance of the anonymous complaint… then the entire deal would be scrapped and re-tendered.

In the same email, Mr Verma shared with his partners highly classified information on how other manufacturers had fared in the trials, which means he accessed a top-secret army report.

In an email dated July 26, 2011, Mr Verma outlined the urgent need for the bribe for “VIP.” He asked for $50,000 to be wired “tomorrow, Tuesday or Wednesday” for ‘business development’ in India and this cannot be delayed a day as each day counts.”

The same day, an account was opened at JP Morgan Chase Bank, New York and $51,000 was deposited into the account.. A few days later, on August 2, 2011, an email from Mr Verma’s colleague, C Edmonds Allen, confirmed that the transfer to Ganton, Mr Verma’s company, was complete.

via NDTV

VVIP copter probe may blow lid off deal for aerial recce systems

Bombardier Global 5000

Man Mohan.

The investigation into the controversial VVIP helicopter deal could bring another mega military aviation contract related to an aerial surveillance spy agency, the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), into focus.

Former Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, who is in the eye of the storm for the deal, seems to be out of the frying pan into the fire because of his ‘association’ (after his retirement) with the decision making process in the $300 million ARC deal. Tyagi headed the IAF from 2004 to 2007.

The CBI on Wednesday filed an FIR against Tyagi and 12 others for alleged cheating and criminal conspiracy in the VVIP helicopter deal.

Signed in mid-2011, the ARC deal is about the procurement of two airborne reconnaissance multi-sensor imagery intelligence systems (ARMIS). The ARC, which monitors China and Pakistan borders, is a sister organisation of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s external espionage agency.

The ARC contract was clinched by the ELTA Systems Ltd., a group and subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), beating the US major Raytheon. Interestingly, the ELTA had purchased two Bombardier Global 5000 aircraft in January 2011, seven months in advance of the contract signing.

But the ARMIS have not arrived so far despite the payment of several instalments. Also, the ELTA has not been able to demonstrate its ‘working model.’ India has been attempting to build its own ARMIS for over a decade. Meanwhile, Pakistan has acquired a cheaper version of ARMIS.

After the ELTA was ‘chosen’ in 2010 on the basis of a much lower price compared to Raytheon, a three-member review committee, headed by the then Defence Secretary, was set up by the Prime Minister’s Office on March 11, 2011, to look into this contract following the allegations of irregularities in the ‘Request for Proposal’ (RFP), mainly that the ARC did not insist for a performance trial. Tyagi and a senior Finance Ministry official were other two members of this committee.

Sources say that in an earlier ‘internal review’ by the then Secretary (Public Grievances and Coordination) Ajit Seth had sided with other ministries’ view that the ELTA should have been selected after user trials, as was the practice in all such defence purchases.

Being the only member having technical knowledge, Tyagi’s ‘opinion’ reportedly carried weight in the ‘review committee.’ The committee allowed the deal to take off although it earlier wanted to go for a fresh tender. The basic issue of “design flaws and lack of airworthy prototypes” was also not addressed, claim top ARC and RAW sources.

Raytheon lodged a complaint with the Indian government and the Central Vigilance Commission. The US also reportedly took up the matter with New Delhi.

Tyagi’s close proximity with a former RAW chief and his ‘association’ with the decision-making process in the lucrative ARC contract has attracted the attention of investigators looking into the VVIP copter deal, sources said.

KC Verma was the RAW chief when the proposal for this contract was mooted in 2008. The ELTA was chosen when Sanjiv Tripathi was the ARC head. Soon after that, he became the RAW’s 19th chief. Just when the ARC deal was heading for the finale, Verma had voluntarily taken retirement six weeks before scheduled retirement, causing a vacancy, to enable Tripathi become the RAW Secretary in December 2010, just one week before he was scheduled to retire. Tripathi’s successor in the ARC, AB Mathur, had refused to sign the deal documents.

Perhaps, this was India’s first defence-cum-intelligence mega deal in which the buyer organisation, for strange reasons, did not insist for the demonstration of a working model. “Even for the purchase of a small firearm, one goes for a performance trial,” said a senior ARC officer, commenting that “a product of this kind is first judged by its technical credentials, trial performance and feasibility and not by the rock-bottom quotation.”

When contacted, former RAW chief Sanjiv Tripathi declined to meet and talk “about any matter” related to his previous organizations on the plea that “these are closely monitored by the adversaries.”

Tyagi, when contacted over telephone, also refused to meet and talk about “any issue” and said that “I am staying away from the media for a while.”

In response to The Tribune’s e-mail for comments, the IAI’s Deputy Corporate VP Communication, Doron Suslik, said “the IAI does not disclose details of its contracts with customers, Indian or others. It had won the ARMIS contract in a fair competition, having offered the lowest price compared to other companies, and fully complying with the contract’s technical specifications, terms and conditions. The IAI will provide all the systems as stated in the contract.”

How Tyagi is associated

After the ELTA was ‘chosen’ in 2010 on the basis of a much lower price compared to Raytheon, a three-member review committee, headed by the then Defence Secretary, was set up by the Prime Minister’s Office on March 11, 2011, to look into this contract. Former IAF chief SP Tyagi (pic) and a senior Finance Ministry official were the other members of this panel. Tyagi’s proximity to a former RAW chief and his ‘association’ with the decision-making process in the lucrative ARC contract has attracted the attention of investigators looking into the VVIP copter deal.

What is the ARC deal

It is about the procurement of two airborne reconnaissance multi-sensor imagery intelligence systems. The ARC, which monitors the borders with China and Pakistan, is a sister organisation of the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external espionage agency.

Who clinched the deal

The ARC contract was clinched by the ELTA Systems Ltd., a group and subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, beating the US major Raytheon. But the intelligence systems have not arrived so far despite the payment of several instalments. Also, ELTA has not been able to demonstrate its ‘working model.’

via The Tribune, Chandigarh

CBI issues lookout notice for Tyagi, others

Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi (retd)

The Central Bureau of Investigation has issued lookout notice for the former Chief of the Air Staff, S.P. Tyagi, his three cousins and five other Indians who have been named in its FIR on alleged kickbacks received by them from AgustaWestland in the Rs.3,600-crore VVIP chopper deal.

Sources in the CBI said the notice was issued at airports to prevent them from leaving the country.

Air Chief Marshal (retd.) S.P. Tyagi this Wednesday became the first IAF Chief to be booked by the CBI — along with 12 others — for alleged cheating, corruption and criminal conspiracy in the deal and searches were carried out at 14 locations, including his residence.

The former IAF Chief, his cousins — Sanjeev alias Julie, Rajeev alias Docsa and Sandeep and European middlemen Carlo Gerosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschke were among the 13 individuals named in the FIR as accused.

The CBI alleged that during his tenure as Air Chief Marshal, the IAF agreed “to reduce the [mandatory] service ceiling for VVIP helicopters from 6,000 m to 4,500 m”, a source in the CBI said.

It alleged that reduction of service ceiling — maximum height at which a helicopter can perform normally — allowed the AgustaWestland to come into the fray as, otherwise, its helicopters were not even qualified for submission of bids. Two new names, which were not part of the CBI’s preliminary inquiry, have also been included in the FIR. — Satish Bagrodia, brother of former Union Minister Santosh Bagrodia, and IDS Infotech CMD Pratap Aggarwal, it said.

via The Hindu.

Confronted with scams in defence deals, Antony asks armed forces to shed overdependence on foreign vendors for buying military hardware

Gautam Datt.

The taint of corruption in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal has brought focus on the need to shed overdependence on foreign vendors for military hardware, but the status of indigenous defence programmes tells a story of cost overruns and delays.

Confronted with allegations of largescale corruption in defence deals, Defence Minister A.K. Antony has asked armed forces to change the mindset of rushing to foreign vendors for military equipment and hinted at indigenisation as a solution to check graft.

Mail Today assessed the research and development costs of some of the major programmes and their status.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is making light combat helicopter, which took part in Indian Air Force’s latest exercise ‘Iron Fist’ in Pokhran. The state-owned aeronautical company has spent about Rs.900 crore to develop the helicopter whose induction has already been delayed by four years.

Armed forces have severe shortage of light utility helicopters. But the effort to develop them at home will cost about Rs.400 crore and the project is already behind schedule by 30 months.

HAL is looking to supply Cheetal light helicopters meant for operations in high altitude areas. The 10 helicopters to be supplied to the air force will cost Rs.100 crore.

The development of intermediate jet trainers has hit a roadblock despite the programme costing Rs.600 crore. The jet trainers, needed badly by the IAF, have been under development for a decade. The IAF is hoping that the issues regarding the aircraft’s design would be sorted out but its induction seems unlikely anytime soon.

The advanced light helicopter Mk-IV, a version which comes with guns, rockets and missiles, has been delayed by four years.

The R&D cost analysis of light combat aircraft Tejas shows that the project’s cost is now Rs.13,000 crore with completion deadline of December, 2018. The project was started about 35 years ago with a budget of Rs.560 crore.

India, the biggest arms importer in the world, buys 70 per cent of its military equipment from foreign vendors. The lack of private defence industry and failure of public sector undertakings to deliver have contributed to the situation. Officials say it would take at least three decades for the indigenization to make any impact.

Blame game

The defence scientific establishment blames armed forces for preferring foreign military hardware and not supporting the local efforts. It was reflected in tussle between the army and DRDO over Arjun tanks. The army accepted the locally made tanks and ordered 124 (Mk-I) of them only after extensive comparative trials with Russian T-90s and removal of defects.

In the renewed effort to develop the domestic industry, emphasis is on private participation which has been nonexistent. But situation is gradually changing with big industrial houses like Tatas, Reliance, Mahindra and L&T making inroads in defence manufacturing. The IAF is looking to get its first aircraft from private sector as replacement for the existing fleet of 56 Avros. The `12000 crore project is aimed at encouraging private aircraft manufacturing.

via India Today.

IAF lost 29 fighter planes in past 3 years: Minister

In the last three years, the Indian Air Force has lost 29 fighter planes including 12 MiG 21s in crashes in which six pilots lost their lives, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

The aircraft lost in the crashes were 12 MiG 21s, eight MiG 27s, four Su-30MKis, two each Jaguars and Mirage 200 and one MiG 29, Defence Minister A K Antony said in reply to a written question.

“In these accidents, a total of six pilots and six civilians have lost their lives. Apart from loss of lives, 39 civilian properties were damaged. Compensation paid for the loss of lives of pilots and for civilians who were are killed or injured was Rs 60 lakh and Rs 40.4 lakh respectively,” he said.

Answering another query, the Minister said the IAF was short of 515 pilots but the available strength was sufficient to meet its operational requirements.

“The strength of pilots as on 1st March, 2013 is 3410 against the sanctioned strength of 3925. Based on the planned induction of new aircraft and weapon systems in the 12th plan, about 440 pilots are required to be inducted into the IAF per annum,” Antony said.

Answering another query, the Minister said 12,634 acres of defence land is under encroachment and the CBI has registered cases against retired Army officers for criminal conspiracy in dealings related to defence land in Pune and Mumbai.

To a query on the DRDO, he said a total of 443 scientists have resigned from the premier defence research agency during the last five years.

via Zee News

Helicopter scam: CBI questions ex IAF chief Tyagi and cousins

Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday questioned former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi and his three cousins in connection with the VIP chopper scam case .

The agency questioned the Tyagi brothers – Julie Tyagi, Docsa Tyagi and Sandeep Tyagi – at its main office in the national capital. Later, the former IAF chief also joined the probe.

The Tyagi brothers are being considered as accused in the chopper deal scam even as the CBI is yet to register a case. The former IAF chief’s name has also figured in the scam.

The preliminary enquiry (PE), registered by the CBI into the alleged payment of Rs.362 crore as kickbacks, has established that bribes were paid to Indians.

The CBI had on Tuesday questioned Aeromatrix CEO Praveen Bakshi as part of its probe into the matter. He was questioned in detail about the structure of his company, relations with alleged Italian middlemen Guido Ralph Hashcke and Carlo Gerosa and the engineering contracts with Mauritius-based firms.

Bakshi’s name had reportedly cropped up during conversations recorded by Italian investigators which formed the basis of his questioning. The report submitted by Italian investigators shows that Hashcke and Gerosa allegedly received commission worth crores of rupees from Italian defence giant Finmeccanica and its subsidiary AgustaWestland for swinging the helicopter deal in favour of the company.

via India Today.