AgustaWestland case: Former Air Chief SP Tyagi appears before CBI for questioning

Former IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi (retd), is accused of modifying the requirements in order to seal the deal with AgustaWestland.

Pic courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi (retd), was on Monday being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with its probe into the alleged corruption in the AgustaWestland choppers deal.

The CBI had on Friday issued summons to Tyagi. Apart from Tyagi, his three cousins have also been summoned by the agency for questioning.

The former IAF chief arrived at the CBI headquarters this morning to appear before the investigation team probing the case.

The ex-IAF chief is accused of modifying the requirements in order to seal the deal with AgustaWestland.

The CBI had on Saturday questioned former IAF deputy chief, Air Marshal JS Gujral (retd) in connection with the VVIP AgustaWestland helicopter deal.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is scheduled to speak on the AgustaWestland issue in Parliament on Wednesday, and give a detailed chronology of the events.

The CBI had named 13 individuals in the FIR which it registered on March 13, 2013, including Tyagi and European middlemen Carlo Gerosa, Christian Michel and Guido Haschke, in connection with the alleged bribery.

It managed to get the complete tranche of records, received from Italy, translated into English.

Sources also said that the records were being analysed by sleuths who would decide on the charges to be pressed against the accused named in the FIR, including former IAF chief, Tyagi, and his three cousins.

Italian agencies had arrested the then CEO of AgustaWestland, Giuseppe Orsi, for alleged bribes given to Indian middlemen to clinch the deal.

The supply of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland had come under scanner after Italian authorities alleged that bribes were paid by the company to clinch the Rs 3,600 crore deal. It was subsequently cancelled.

The Italian prosecutor, who carried out the preliminary inquiry, alleged that the CEO of Finmeccanica, the parent company of the Britain-based AgustaWestland, had used services of middlemen to bribe Indian officials.

The probe agency has alleged that during his tenure as IAF chief, Tyagi and, "with his approval", the IAF "conceded to reduce the service ceiling for VVIP helicopters.

(With Agency inputs)