CBI registers fresh case against Karti Chidambaram for 'facilitating' visas of Chinese nationals after illegal gratification

Karti Chidambaram was booked for allegedly facilitating visas of 263 Chinese nationals for a power company after receiving Rs 50 lakh as a bribe 11 years ago when his father was the Union home minister, the PTI news agency reported.

File photo (Credits: PTI)

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday (May 17, 2022) conducted coordinated search operations at 10 locations in multiple cities in the country, including residences of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram in Chennai and Delhi. It also registered a fresh case against Karti Chidambaram for allegedly facilitating visas of 263 Chinese nationals for a power company after receiving Rs 50 lakh as a bribe 11 years ago when his father was the Union home minister, the PTI news agency reported.

The searches were carried out after the agency registered an FIR on May 14 against Karti, his close associate S Bhaskararaman, the then associate vice president of Talwandi Sabo power project Vikas Makharia, who allegedly offered the bribe, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL), Mumbai-based Bell Tools Limited through which bribes were alleged routed under IPC 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 477A (falsification of accounts) and section 8 and 9 of Prevention of Corruption Act, the PTI said.

While the CBI has listed "unknown public servant (s) and private person (s)" as the sixth accused in the FIR, the agency has alleged in its FIR that "...There is reason to believe that the then home secretary (R K Singh) and home minister (Chidambaram) were in the knowledge of the matter of TSPL and work of TSPL was done through them but it is not ascertained at this stage whether Shri P Chidambaram, the then home minister and the then home secretary were in the knowledge of" the demand and payment of illegal gratification or not.

"I have lost count, how many times has it been? Must be a record," Karti tweeted immediately after the CBI raids without specifying.

He further tweeted that his office has updated him about the searches. 

"My office has just updated on the 'record' twice in 2015, once in 2017, twice in 2018 and today :) 6!," he wrote.

My office has just updated on the “record” twice in 2015, once in 2017, twice in 2018 & today :) 6! — Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) May 17, 2022

Timing of CBI search is 'interesting': P Chidambaram 

P Chidambaram, in his tweets in Hindi and English, said that a CBI team searched his residence in Chennai and his official residence in Delhi.

"The team showed me an FIR in which I am not named as an accused. The search team found nothing and seized nothing," he said, adding, "I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting." 

This morning, a CBI team searched my residence at Chennai and my official residence at Delhi. The team showed me a FIR in which I am not named as an accused.

The search team found nothing and seized nothing.

I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting. — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) May 17, 2022

He, however, did not mention what "timing" he was referring to.

In the new case, which is an offshoot of an ongoing probe in the INX media case, the CBI has alleged that Karti had allegedly received Rs 50 lakh bribe through Bhaskararaman to facilitate the visa of 263 Chinese nationals during the UPA regime for TSPL, a Vedanta Group company, in July-August 2011, when his father was the Union home minister, the PTI reported citing officials.

(With agency inputs)