OFB scam: CBI asks Defence Ministry to blacklist six firms

New Delhi, July 7 (PTI) The Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) has asked the Indian Defence Ministry to
blacklist six firms, including four international ones, for
their alleged involvement in the Ordnance Factory Board scam.
Official sources said the names of four international
companies -- Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK), Israel
Military Industries Ltd (IMI), Rheinmetall Air Defence (RAD),
Zurich, and Cooperation Defence, Russia -- are mentioned in
the letter by the CBI to the Defence Ministry.
Besides, two Indian firms -- T S Kisan and companies
Pvt Ltd (New Delhi) and R K Machines Tools Ltd (Ludhiana) --
have also been named in the CBI communique to the MoD sent
earlier this week, they said.
The action came after agency sleuths investigating the
case found alleged involvement of these firms in the scandal.
The agency had on June 30 filed a 2,700-page
chargesheet in a special CBI court, Kolkata, against former
Director General of Ordnance factory Board, Sudipta Ghosh and
11 others for graft.
A case was registered by CBI on May 17, 2009 under
different Sections of IPC and Prevention of the Corruption Act
against Ghosh and others.
It was alleged that Ghosh had entered into criminal
conspiracy with other accused with the object of demanding and
obtaining huge illegal gratification in the matter of various
supply orders placed by Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and also
in the matters relating to transfer or posting of the officers
of Ordnance Factories.
Following registration of case and subsequent probe,
the CBI had arrested Ghosh and others.
"During searches conducted by CBI, cash amounting to
approximately Rs 1.41 crore was seized from the residences and
bank lockers of the former DG and his wife. Another Rs 1.14
crore was recovered from the premises of other accused
persons," CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal had said.
The chargesheet has named Ghosh and his wife Kajal
Ghosh, Ramesh Nambiar, then additional GM (Sports) Air India,
J K Thapar, director of T S Kishan and Companies Private Ltd,
Satish Mahajan, director and Sunil Handa, manager of R K
Machines Tools Ltd, Ludhiana in north India.
Former statistical investigator of National Sample
Survey Organisation, J K Grover, two private firms T S Kisan &
Company Private Limited, New Delhi and R K Machines Tool
Limited, Ludhiana, chairman of Mokul Group of Companies
Mohinder Singh Sahni and two private persons -- Ashish Bose
and Pradeep Rana -- were also named in the charge sheet.
The matter will be heard on July 31 by a Kolkata
court.
According to CBI, the modus operandi of Ghosh was that
he used to habitually negotiate bribes with domestic and
foreign suppliers of defence equipment to the Ordnance
factories through his conduit (Ashish Bose).
Three separate cases were also registered by CBI
against Ghosh, Nambiar and Grover for possessing assets
disproportionate to their known sources of income. PTI