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TEHELKA: He should…letter will issue…General Choudary.
I met Gen Choudary day before yesterday.
MAJ.GEN.MURGAI: Okay.
*
* *
TEHELKA : Will it go today or tomorrow to L M Mehta
?
MAJ.GEN.MURGAI: I'll talk to him. Sit down.
TEHELKA: All right.
[Murgai leaves the room]
[Murgai's voice is heard]
MAJ.GEN. MURGAI: What is L M Mehta's office number?
TEHELKA: I don't know.
[Murgai's voice is heard in the background]
[Tehelka journalists mobile rings. He takes call.]
[Tehelka journalist walks around the room. Murgai returns]
MAJ GEN MURGAI: End of the …, he's having …
TEHELKA: Okay.
MAJ GEN MURGAI: Then I'll fix up.
TEHELKA: When you need the car?
MAJ GEN MURGAI: Car?
TEHELKA: For one hour?
MAJ GEN MURGAI: No, how are you…. You tell me how are
you placed?
TEHELKA: That…that is…you need not worry. After one
hour you need the car?
MAJ GEN MURGAI: I thought that if you … if you can
spare,it then I can…go and meet…
TEHELKA: Okay. Then after one hour I will give you
the car. The car will be here.
[Tehelka journalist picks up the briefcase and prepares
to leave.]
MAJOR GENERAL MURGAI: Okay, all right.
[Tehelka journalist walks out, Murgai accompanies him]
TEHELKA: Sir, please tell Mr…L.M. Mehta that clear
that financial equation. Tell Mr Mehta that clear the financial
equation.
MAJ GEN MURGAI: The what?.
TEHELKA: That we will like that… like this. That financial
equation. If he will write that letter, we will give like
that.
MAJ GEN MURGAI: Hmm!
TEHELKA: We will give like that…finally…to Mr Mehta.
MAJ GEN MURGAI: No, I will tell him that this much
we will give you.
[Tehelka journalist walks out the main gate after promising
that he will send the car after one hour]
Additional
Secretary L.M. Mehta issued a letter to Major General
Choudary in the second week of January [2001].
He asked for Rs 2 lakh in cash. He was paid Rs 50,000
by Major General Murgai as advance in his office and the
rest was promised upon receipt of the letter. Of course,
we just planned to collect the letter and run.
You see we couldn't go any further. We couldn't produce
hand-held thermal cameras and submit them for trials.
Major General Choudary issued a trial evaluation order
in the third week of January. It was a 26-page order.
General Murgai collected it for us. Mehta's dilemma was
that he couldn't organize an evaluation letter just for
West End and had to include 3-4 more companies. He did
that.
In the meantime around January 10 our cover had already
blown with Samta Party treasurer R.K. Jain and BJP President
Bangaru Laxman. Both had been expecting money and were
desperately looking for West End representatives. We kept
our fingers crossed so that our cover remained with General
Murgai for some more time.
But it was not to be. We delayed by 24 hours our visit
to General Murgai to collect the letter. Our cover blew.
For three days we tried to ambush General Murgai at his
home. On each of those ocassions the cars of Surendra
Singh and General Choudhary were parked outside. The trio
have been in constant consultation to plan a damage limitation
exercise.
It's been nearly two months since the letter was issued.
We are told they have doctored the files. We hope they
haven't been able to doctore the despatch dates.
Anyways, if the Military Intelligence interrogates the
office staff of General Choudary they shall have the truth.
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