Former Defense Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma participated in several key discussions that led to the award in February 2010 of a controversial Rs 3.727 million contract to AgustaWestland for 12 VVIP helicopters, according to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) detectives who They handle the case and the investigative documents that will form the basis of a supplemental charge sheet in the case.
Sharma was part of the recruitment process in different capacities since March 2005, when the Indian Air Force (IAF) agreed to reduce the flight altitude of helicopters from 6,000 meters to 4,500 meters, until the eventual decision to award the contract to AugustaWestland five years later. , according to documents prepared by CBI.
The agency has claimed that Sharma, as deputy secretary (Air) in the defense ministry at the time, attended a crucial meeting on March 7, 2005 chaired by then-Air Deputy Chief of Staff JS Gujral and attended by senior officials from the ministry and the IAF. including wing commander (now retired) SA Kunte, who was a project officer for the procurement of helicopters for the VVIPs, such as the president, vice president, prime minister, and other dignitaries.
Last week, CBI sought a sanction to prosecute Sharma, Kunte and three other IAF officers, while Gujral was named a defendant on his first charge sheet in the case in September 2017.
According to the researchers, it was at the March 2005 meeting that the previous operational requirement (OR) of 6,000 meters of flight altitude was lowered to 4,500 meters, and the helicopter cabin height was set at 180 cm. It has been alleged that these changes to the operating room made the AgustaWestland AW-101 helicopters eligible for the contract.
Later, Sharma served as Secretary of Defense between 2011 and 2013 and as Comptroller and Auditor General of India between 2013 and 2017.
Sharma has denied all the allegations against him. “I had an impeccable service record of over forty years and no one can blame me for any bad faith action or decision. I strongly and firmly deny any such frivolous accusation, ”he told HT last week.
According to CBI, when the 2005 Defense Acquisition Procedure (DPP), a process that governs any defense purchase, including helicopters for VVIP, came into effect in July 2005, Sharma requested the Special Protection Group’s comments on the latest ORs. .
He also participated in the October 2005 meeting where SPG raised the helicopter requirement from eight to 12 original helicopters, a demand instantly backed by the IAF, the investigation documents argue.
In October 2005, the total acquisition cost of 12 VVIP helicopters was estimated at 792.82 million rupees, adds CBI. The agency’s case documents suggest that after the Ministry of Defense approved the proposal on February 22, 2006, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was drafted, which was reviewed by air force officials over the following months and then approved by Sharma, who had become CEO (acquisition) in the ministry by then, on September 21, 2006.
The documents show that Sharma played a role in approving the technical evaluation committee (TEC) report in which deviations from the original proposal were taken into account, and then in countering an observation by the Finance Ministry in 2009 that the The cost of the helicopters – traded at Rs 3,727 crore – was “abnormally high”.
After obtaining approval from the Ministry of Finance, the final contract was signed with AgustaWestland in February 2010.
“All of this shows that SK Sharma played a key role in the entire agreement from its inception until it was signed,” said a CBI official on condition of anonymity.
The contract, alleged violations and bribes in the agreement became one of the biggest controversies during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, finally canceled on January 1, 2014.
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