Almost a year after it filed a case against Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, following former Army chief Gen (retd) V K Singh’s allegations of bribery against him, the CBI is likely to file a closure report soon.
In March last year, V K Singh had alleged that Tejinder Singh had offered him Rs 14 crore for clearing a tranche of “sub-standard” Tatra trucks for the Army. He alleged that Tejinder Singh had met him on September 22, 2010, and offered him the money on behalf of Ravi Rishi, owner of Vectra group.
In October last year, the CBI filed a case against Tejinder Singh. But a year later, the agency is reported to have drawn a blank.
The decision to file a closure report is learnt to have been discussed at a recent review meeting of senior CBI officers, which was also attended by CBI director Ranjit Sinha.
Investigating officials are now waiting for a CFSL report on a CD that was provided by V K Singh, of the purported conversation in which Tejinder Singh made the bribe offer. The CD, however, is reported to be malfunctioning.
CBI officials said nearly 50 people had been examined but they were unable to get any leads.
The “record of discussion”, an entry reportedly made by V K Singh in his daily diary at that time, is not strong evidence, said officials. While there is no doubt that Tejinder Singh visited V K Singh on that day, there is no proof that he offered a bribe, they said.
“It will be difficult for us to prove such allegations unless we get more direct evidence. It is therefore unlikely that we will pursue the case further,” said a senior CBI official.