Gen Singh sends written complaint to CBI on bribe offer

However, it is yet unclear if the chief has named the person who allegedly offered him the bribe, retired officer Tejinder Singh, who has already filed a defamation suit against Gen Singh. The chief had earlier said a then serving officer had made the offer to clear the supply of a fleet of sub-standard vehicles to the force.

Gen Singh is said to have mentioned in the complaint that he had brought the matter to the knowledge of his "seniors" when the incident [of bribe offer] took place. He is said to have given a detailed account of the incident. The Army chief did not bring Tejinder Singh’s name when he made the charges of kickback, but defence minister A K Antony did so during his reply on the issue in Rajya Sabha last month. The Defence Minister also announced that he has asked the CBI to probe the case.

It is understood that the CBI would proceed cautiously in the case since it involved top officials and is likely to seek the opinion of attorney general before making further moves in the case. The chief talked of the bribe offer in a March 26 newspaper interview and has taken more than a fortnight to hand over the written complaint.According to CBI sources, a  preliminary enquiry or an FIR could be registered after the completion of the procedural requirements. The CBI kept the complaints under wraps marking it "highly sensitive and confidential."

After media reports emerged about the bugging of the Defence Minister’s office, the army issued a rare press release on March 5 claiming that Tejinder Singh had been offering bribes on behalf of truck manufacturer Tatra-Vectra.