VVIP chopper deal: CBI questions Gautam Khaitan

Former IAF chief SP Tyagi will be questioned by CBI again on Thursday on the alleged kickbacks in the USD 750 million (Rs 3,600 crore) deal for 12 VVIP helicopters.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday once again questioned Gautam Khaitan, former board member of Aeromatrix, in connection with the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal. Former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief SP Tyagi is also expected to be questioned by the CBI for the second consecutive day on the alleged kickbacks in the VVIP helicopters deal. Tyagi along with his brothers were questioned by the investigating agency yesterday. The CBI had on Tuesday questioned Aeromatrix CEO Praveen Bakshi, former union minister Santosh Bagrodia and lawyer Gautam Khaitan in the case. A CBI and defence ministry team had gone to Italy last month to collect documents concerning alleged kickbacks to clinch the deal. The investigative agency filed a preliminary inquiry against 11 people Feb 25. Besides SP Tyagi, the inquiry names his cousins Sanjeev alias Julie Tyagi, Docsa Tyagi, Sandeep Tyagi, Khaitan (who was formerly associated with Aeromatrix) and Bakshi. Others named in the inquiry include Giuseppe Orsi, former CEO of Italian defence major Finmeccanica; Bruno Spagnolini, CEO of AgustaWestland, a Britain-based subsidiary of Finmeccanica; and alleged middlemen Guido Ralph Haschke, Karlo Valentino, Ferdinando Gerosa, and Christian Michel. The firms named are Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland, IDS Infotech Ltd. (India) and Aeromatrix India. With IANS inputs