Arun Singh asked me to review shortlisted guns: Sundarji

Former army chief General Krishnaswamy Sundarji says Arun Singh, then minister of state for defence, specifically asked him in November 1985 to review the guns shortlisted for purchase by the army.

The general said several factors influenced the government's decision to buy the Bofors gun, though the shortlist prepared by army headquarters from mid-1984 had the French Sofma gun at the top.

Quick delivery, the extent of transfer of technology offered by the manufacturers and political reliability, he said, were the three main factors that favoured the Bofors howitzer.

There was no other major consideration that went into the decision, the general said, as all the guns on the shortlist were ''fit for the army.''

Arun Singh, who was apparently unhappy with the attempt being made then to project the Sofma as the only suitable gun, asked Sundarji to review the shortlist after he was named General Arun S Vaidya's successor in November 1985 .

Sundarji said he had made it clear to Vaidya that ''I am not going to do anything behind your back'' and that the review would be done by a committee.

At a meeting with Arun Singh when views on the guns were presented, it was made clear that both the Bofors and Sofma guns were ''acceptable.''

Besides Vaidya, the meeting was attended by Sundarji, Lieutenant General Ajay Singh and Brigadier D P Singh. It was then agreed that both the guns were acceptable, but the Bofors howitzer had ''a slight edge.''

Sundarji regretted that an attempt was made earlier by army headquarters to place the range of the howitzer gun at 24 km suppressing the fact that it had a range of 30 km.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation recorded the statement of a third retired army officer on Thursday in connection with the $ 1.3 billion howitzer purchase.

CBI sources refused to identify the former army officer by name, only mentioning his rank -- lieutenant general. The 'examination' lasted over three hours, by far the longest so far.

This was the second day of examination of witnesses in the Bofors case since the 500-odd page Swiss bank accounts relating to the gun deal were taken possession of by CBI Director Joginder Singh in Berne, Switzerland, on January 21.

Two other retired lieutenant generals, Hriday N Kaul and K B Mehta, were examined on Tuesday by the CBI's special investigation team probing the Bofors case. Both meetings were short, the one with the former lasting less than half-an-hour.

General Sundarji will be interviewed by the SIT on Monday, February 10, on why the Bofors gun gained precedence over the French Sofma gun.

The army officer, who turned up at the CBI headquarters on Thursday, eluded the posse of reporters and camera crews who waited for him for hours outside. He left by the rear gate.

Sources said those co-operating with the CBI in its probe of the Bofors kickbacks case preferred anonymity which suited the agency as this facilitated smooth conduct of the investigations.