A former Air Chief is like an extended family and the Service would stand by him till he is proven guilty, said Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Arup Raha on Wednesday, talking about his former boss ACM S.P. Tyagi, who was recently arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“A former Air Force Chief is like a family member, extended family member. If anybody in my family goes through a rough patch, I think we should stand by that person. If the charges are proven, then we have no sympathy for him,” he said in a media interaction ahead of his retirement on December 31. However, he said that till the charges against ACM Tyagi were proven “he deserved his due”.
ACM Tyagi was arrested on December 9 by the CBI on charges of receiving kickbacks in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case and was granted bail by a Special Court early this week.
Corruption charges
On the series of corruption charges in defence deals, ACM Raha said they had surfaced from “time to time” but despite investigations nothing had been achieved in pin pointing those responsible. He observed that multiple agencies were involved in the procurement process and one could not pin the blame on one particular organisation or service.
Talking of the force modernisation and the recent deal for 36 Rafale multi-role fighter jets from France, ACM Raha said the number was inadequate both for operational reasons and “inventory management”.
“It is tremendously capable in all roles. It is a multi-role aircraft and can be used very effectively. It can prove its worth in any situation. But we have just ordered 36 aircraft and we require more aircraft in this middle-weight category to give entire spectrum of capability,” he said. Talking of his tenure as Chief, ACM Raha said the incident of the missing AN-32 transport aircraft was his worst memory. Another setback was the Pathankot airbase attack.
