Date: 21 Jul 2012
CONCEPT OF SECURITY AMONG THE INDIAN “BABOONS”\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Meeting of arms dealer's wife with defence ministry brass leaves government red-faced TNN | Jul 19, 2012, 01.43AM IST 263\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Anca Maria Neacsu, the Romanian wife of alleged arms-dealer Abhishek Verma, had unfettered access to the defence ministry top brass.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ NEW DELHI: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Anca Maria Neacsu, the Romanian wife of alleged arms-dealer Abhishek Verma, was apparently hobnobbing with politicians and top bureaucrats on a regular basis before she and her husband were arrested by CBI in June.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ It has now emerged that Anca met MoS for defence M M Pallam Raju, defence production secretary Shekhar Agarwal and director-general of defence acquisitions Vivek Rae, one after the other in South Block, on December 7, 2011.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ An embarrassed defence ministry on Wednesday was at pains to stress that Anca was the Indian representative of armament company Sig Sauer, which manufactures world-famous handguns, and that it was "a normal and routine practice" for its top officials to interact with representatives of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ MoD is already red-faced about the fact that arms agents continue to have free and unfettered access to its top-secret documents, underlining the deep nexus between top officials and shady middlemen operating to swing arms deals in the lucrative Indian defence market.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Verma's estranged business partner C Edmonds Allen, a US citizen, recently handed over a thick set of highly-classified MoD documents to the government and CBI, which range from minutes of the crucial Defence Acquisitions Council chaired by defence minister A K Antony to reports on India's largest submarine manufacturing project in the pipeline.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ MoD officials, however, said Anca had sought the meetings in December since Sig Saucer owner Michael Lueke was then visiting India. "She said Sig Sauer wanted to explore collaboration with Indian companies," said an official.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ "The four-member Sig Sauer delegation, including Lueke and Anca, did meet Raju, Rae and Agarwal on that day. They were routine meetings. Senior MoD officials are authorized to meet representatives of OEMs," he said.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Moreover, he added, Verma and Anca were not officially married at that time. But, as per one document, Verma had hosted the delegation from Sig Sauer — known for its semi-automatic pistols favoured by US Secret Service agents — during its visit to India.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ On December 6, Verma had first briefed the delegation about the "meetings and appointments" scheduled over the next two days and then hosted a "gala reception and cocktails" later in the evening in honour of Lueke at "Verma Estate".\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The attendees at this reception were listed as "SIG India management, Army generals, government officials, ambassadors and several journalists". The list of meetings arranged for Lueke on December 6 and 7 included top home ministry officials connected with police modernization and Special Frontier Force. ================================ 000000000