DGCA initiates probe into bribe complaints against senior official

livemint.com:

Mint. The complaint has also been marked to several senior officials of the civil aviation ministry and DGCA including the civil aviation minister as well as the aviation secretary.

The complainant has alleged that Gill takes “huge cash" as bribe for not taking the prescribed action against flying training organisations. It has also been alleged that the official forces some flying training organisations, who cannot pay such amount of cash, to sell one of their remaining training aircraft at nominal price in bargain “for closing his eyes".

For the same, he has allegedly formed at least two ‘benami’ companies, under the name of Blue Throat Aero Global and Sabres Corporation Solutions where his family members are directors. “After procuring such aircraft as bribe from FTOs in the name of companies owned by his relatives and run under his supervision, he leases out such aircraft taken in bribe to some other FTO, whom he takes under his feather and connives with them to over-log the flying hours," the complainant has further claimed.

The complaint alleged that Gill acquired three such aircraft, including two Cessna-172 VT-AAY and VT-EUCand a Tecnam VT-DSB from Redbird Aviation via Blue Throat Aero and Sabres Corporation and leased two of them back to Redbird Aviation, while the third one was leased to Chetak Aviation Academy. “Despite 15-20 crashes and incidents in just 36 months at Redbird training academy Capt Anil Gill has not taken any regulatory action against this flying academy because his own aircraft are being rented there," the complainant further said, adding that Capt Gill’s relatives have also formed another leasing company Sandhill Aviation IFSC in GIFT City for aircraft leasing business.