There have been too many discrepancies in positions taken on the issue by the MoD as well as the navy. In September, 2005, naval HQ had claimed that the leak pertained to "commercial information" such as patrol boats, diving equipment and some other routine equipment. Later it said that the information was of a classified nature. Now, after Shankaran has been declared a proclaimed offender and Abhishek Verma and several of its officers raided, the navy has no option but to duck uncomfortable questions.
So does the defence ministry. The fact that H.L. Bhatia, the undersecretary for contracts and purchases, has come under the scanner has raised questions about the links of bureaucrats with arms dealers. While the IB has conducted a thorough investigation into this, the MoD has now sought to keep its findings under wraps. "If the reports are released then there would be many red-faced people in the defence ministry," says an IB official.
If the navy and the MoD want some progress in the war room leak case, then it has to give CBI access to the information gathered by the IB during the initial stages of the investigation. According to the agency, this is being denied to it—which has slowed down the progress of the investigation. The agency has actually had to go over old ground because of lack of cooperation from the navy as well as the defence ministry. Ironically, security reasons have been cited for this information blockade.
But despite this, the CBI has made some headway. Once it files its chargesheet next week (It has since been filed), the agency will need some clearance and support from the government to push ahead with its probe as it charters tricky waters. It has so far established that the Abhishek Verma trail leads to Thales. Once the investigators begin to probe his dealings with the French company, it will be revealed whether Jean-Paul Perrier of Thales was merely a business acquaintance or Verma’s partner in arms.
