New Delhi: The Europe-based Hinduja brothers on October 7 submitted before a Delhi court there was nothing "hanky panky" about the Bofors gun deal and alleged they were implicated in the case due to business rivalry.

During arguments on the point of charge before Special Judge Prem Kumar, Hindujas' counsel Ram Jethmalani, however, did not elaborate as to who all were behind framing the brothers.

Jethmalani said there was a "total absence of evidence" of corruption in the Rs 1437.72 crore deal as it was awarded to Swedish arms manufacturer A B Bofors only after the Army gave its nod following proper evaluation of the 155mm gun system.

"If at all there is corruption, that is there in the Army who opted for Bofors and not S K Bhatnagar (the then Defence Secretary) or the poor Hindujas," he told the Special Judge, and lamented that the probe agency allowed accused Ottavio Quattrocchi to flee from the country.

He said there was nothing in the two charge sheets filed by the CBI to suggest that accused Hinduja brothers entered into a conspiracy with the other accused.

CBI was wrongly trying to prove that Sofma was a better gun system while the evidence on record suggested otherwise, he added.

Hinduja brothers - Srichand, Gopichand and Prakashchand - have been charge-sheeted by CBI for allegedly taking an illegal commission of about Rs 16 crore from Bofors in the Howitzer gun deal signed in March 1986.

PTI