In a shocking case, a large number of cheap Chinese parts were passed off as ‘Made in Germany’ and sent for the production of a type of Bofors artillery gun called Dhanush. Dhanush is an Indian made artillery gun with a 155 mm towed howitzer that is used by the Indian Army.
The use of these Chinese parts led to the CBI launching a case against a company in Delhi.
The gun, designed and made in India has cleared trails that have proved its value. The Indian Army tested the weapon and saw that it was able to strike as far as 38 km in comparison to the original Bofors gun that has a range of only 27 km. The Indian Army is making efforts to produce 414 Dhanush guns.
The CBI’s investigation revealed the Gun Carriage Factory based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh used a crucial part called ‘Wire Race Roller Bearing’ that was manufactured in China.
The company had purchased four bearings in the year 2013. The CBI probed into the case further as the Dhanush gun is vital to India’s defense. The ‘wire race roller bearing’ is an important component in the functioning of the weapon.
The company supplying the bearings claimed they were from a German firm called CRB Antriebstechnik. The company even supplied paper work as assurance. The CBI reported that the parts were even branded with ‘CRB-Made in Germany.’
The CBI investigation also revealed the documents produced by the company were forged. They also got in touch with the German company and found that they do not produce the parts that were supplied.
The agency has built up a strong case against the Delhi based company and have seized the emails exchanged between them and the Chinese firm supplying the faulty parts.
