Fake Chinese parts in India-made Bofors gun: CBI books Delhi firm

Sidh Sales Syndicate delivered Chinese wire race roller bearings for the manufacture of Dhanush guns, the Indian version of Bofors Howitzer guns, saying they were made in Germany.

CBI booked a Delhi-based firm and unidentified officials of the Gun Carriage Factory in Madhya Pradesh on Friday for selling fake Chinese spare parts to Jabalpur’s ordnance factory, which falls under the Ministry of defence’s department of defence production.

Sidh Sales Syndicate supplied wire race roller bearings for the manufacture of the Dhanush guns, the Indian version of Bofors Howitzer guns that performed exceedingly well during the Kargil conflict in 1999.(AFP FILE PHOTO)

CBI registered an FIR under criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery against unknown officials of GCF, accusing them of entering into a conspiracy with Delhi-based Sidh Sales Syndicate.

The firm, based out of Fawri Commercial complex in Delhi’s GB Road, was selected by the GCF for the supply of four wire race roller bearings required for the manufacture of the Dhanush guns, the Indian version of Bofors Howitzer guns that performed exceedingly well during the Kargil conflict in 1999.

The bearings would have cost Indian government approximately 35 lakh rupees, but GCF officials raised the total demand of the bearings from four to six and amended the value of the supply order to more than Rs 53 lakh.

Sidh Sales supplied two bearings each on three different dates in April, May and August 2014 after submitting documents to GCF that the bearings were made by CRB Antriebstechnik, a Germany based company which manufactures mechanical parts, including bearings.

According to CBI, the bearings provided to GCF had Made in Germany embossed in them, and even though tests conducted on the same proved them to be inept, the same were accepted after assurances made by Sidh Sales that they will provide free service if the bearings don’t perform well.

It was later found out that that the German company mentioned by Sidh Sales does not manufacture the said bearing. Worse, the bearings were found to be bought from Sino United Industries based in China’s Henan region.

The Delhi firm was found to be corresponding with two other Chinese firms named Xuzhou Helin Slewing Bearings Co Ltd and RTR Engineering Co Limited and it was found that the certification letters claimed by Sidh Sales to have been sent by CRB Antriebstechnik were fake.

The agency will not name any officials and will soon be examining directors of the private firm.

(With PTI inputs)