CBI books graft case against BEML chief in ERP case

The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked a corruption case against BEML Ltd's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr V.R.S. Natarajan.

On Thursday, it searched his residence and office in Bangalore and also the premises of an unnamed director of a Coimbatore firm, Astral Consultants Ltd.

The searches come after the agency registered corruption cases against them on Wednesday for corruption. The teams were at the premises from 6 a.m. till around 3.30 p.m, a CBI spokesperson said..

A CBI release said BEML's chief was booked for irregularly awarding Astral a contract for implementing ERP across the facilities of the defence PSU during 2004-09.

"It is alleged that the accused persons were parties to a criminal conspiracy entered amongst themselves at Bangalore and other places during 2004-09 to cheat BEML in the matter of award of different works relating to the implementation of an enterprises resource planning project in BEML causing [it] wrongful loss and wrongful gain to others. Further investigation is continuing," the agency said.

The case is unconnected to the BEML-Tatra trucks controversy that the agency is investigating.

Since late March, BEML has come under the probe agency's scanner for irregularities in the purchase of Tatra trucks for the Army.

The issue broke out after the Army Chief, General V.K.Singh, said in an interview to The Hindu in March that he was offered a Rs 14-crore bribe to clear trucks for the Army, purportedly for Tatra.

BEML assembles the trucks from kits supplied by Tatra Sipox of the UK. Tatra Sipox is a subsidiary of the Czech arms supplier Tatra and is largely owned by UK-based Mr Ravi Rishi - who is also being investigated.

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