Enforcement Directorate seeks permission to further interrogate Ratul Puri in chopper scam case

Ratul Puri, who is the nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, is accused of allegedly receiving kickbacks in the deal. He was arrested by the ED on September 3 and will be lodged in Tihar jail till October 25.

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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) moved an application in a special court at the Rouse Avenue Court Complex here on Saturday seeking its permission to further interrogate businessman Ratul Puri in connection with Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper money laundering case.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar sought a reply from Vijay Aggarwal, the counsel representing Puri, on the application and slated the matter for hearing to October 21. The permission to interrogate him was sought after his ED custody ended recently.

Puri, who is the nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, is accused of allegedly receiving kickbacks in the deal. He was arrested by the ED on September 3 and will be lodged in Tihar jail till October 25.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the purchase of 12 VVIP choppers from Italy-based Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland.The deal was scrapped by the NDA government in 2014 over the alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of payment of kickbacks for securing the deal.