The Government has put the Chairman and Managing Director of BEML, V.R.S. Natarajan under suspension following a recommendation by the CBI that he should be kept away from the post to ensure fair investigation regarding the Tatra truck case.
The charge of CMD has been given to P. Dwarkanath, the senior most functional Director in BEML.
The CBI is currently investigating into various charges against Natarajan.
In 1997, Tatra Sipox UK had signed the truck supply deal with BEML which was in alleged violation of defence procurement rules which stated that procurement should only be done directly from original equipment manufacturer, reports said.
The CBI has alleged that since Tatra Sipox UK was not the original manufacturer of these all-terrain trucks, the rule that defence procurements should be made from original manufacturer was violated, reports added.
The CBI is investigating the BEML-Tatra deal following former Army Chief General VK Singh's allegations that he was offered a bribe of Rs.140mn by a former Army officer lobbying for the truck manufacturer to clear the purchase of substandard vehicles.
Shares of BEML ended at Rs.375.70 down 2.5% over the previous close. It had touched a day’s high of Rs.395 and a day’s low of Rs.371.75. The total traded quantity of the shares stood at 1.94 lakh shares on the BSE.