Probe completed against officer handling Gorshkov project

NEW DELHI - The Indian Navy has completed its probe against Commodore Sukhjinder Singh, who is facing allegations of “loose moral conduct” during his posting in Russia to oversee the re-fit of the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, officials said Thursday.

The investigations are over and a report has been submitted to Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s office April 13, a senior defence ministry official said.

The decision would be taken in next one or two days, the official added.

Officials in the navy said it was possible that Singh could be asked to put in his papers or proceed on leave. He is at present posted at the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) here and attending office regularly.

A board of inquiry headed by a vice admiral was ordered nearly 10 days ago after some “objectionable” photographs involving Singh and a Russian woman surfaced.

According to the official, Singh’s role is being probed to ascertain if his proximity to some Russians was in any way linked to the problems associated with the Gorshkov project, including the cost escalation and the delay in the ship’s delivery.

Singh was deputed to Russia to supervise the re-fitting and other technical requirements of the carrier, which has been renamed INS Vikramaditya. He was stationed there from 2005 to 2007.

India last month cleared the $2.35 billion revised price for the carrier.

The warship, originally purchased for $1.5 billion, is currently undergoing a refit at Russia’s Sevmash shipyard. Of the total cost, $974 million was meant for the refit and the balance for a squadron of MiG-29K combat jets that will be deployed on the vessel.

Citing additional costs for the refit, Moscow jacked up the price to $2.9 billion, while New Delhi wanted this to be scaled back to $2.1 billion. The revised price was decided on during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi last month.