New Delhi, April 24
The government today spoke of the “possibility of sabotage” in winter trials of the country’s indigenous Arjun Tank prompting Army chief, Gen Deepak Kapoor, and other top officials to rush to the Avadi tank factory to carry out fresh inspections.
Minister of state for defence production Rao Inderjit Singh told reporters that the possibility of sabotage of the recent winter trials of the Arjun tanks should be examined. He said though the German engines in the tanks had been used for over 15 years, “it should be examined how they broke down during the winter trials”.
“How can this happen all of a sudden?” he wondered as he responded to questions whether the tanks had failed in winter trials conducted by the Army. Eight years after the force placed an order for 124 tanks with the Ordinance Factory Board, the Army, in an scathing indictment of the tank’s performance, has told the parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence that the tanks had “faired very badly”.
Soon after the minister’s comments, a high-level defence ministry team, comprising the Army Chief, left for the Avadi tank factory near Chennai to carry out on-the-spot inspection of the tank.
— PTI
