CBI scrutinising MK Narayanan’s statement
2 July 2014 10:42 PM GMT
CBI is scrutinising the statement given by MK Narayanan, who on Monday resigned as West Bengal governor, in AgustaWestland Helicopter case and no decision has been taken on whether to include him as a witness. CBI sources said statement of Narayanan, former national security adviser, is still in scrutiny stage and no conclusive view has been taken whether to include him as witness in the charge sheet or as an accused.
The sources said Narayanan’s statement is being examined in the light of claims made by then Indian Air Force chief SP Tyagi, an accused in the FIR, that specifications were recommended to be changed by the committee comprising then NSA Narayanan and then SPG chief BV Wanchoo. ‘Unless recommendation by Narayanan and Wanchoo resulted from some malafide intention, they can’t be categorised as accused in the case. So far there is nothing against them and we are treating them as witnesses,’ a CBI official said. Narayanan answered questions relating to 1 March, 2005, meeting in which a decision was taken to reduce ‘service ceiling’ (or the altitude at which a helicopter can fly) from 6,000 m to 4,500 m. This was for the first time that a serving governor was questioned by CBI.
During the questioning spread well over two hours, he explained the rationale behind the decision and also cited that his predecessor in the previous NDA govt Brajesh Mishra had decided to lower the service ceiling in December 2003.
The sources said Narayanan’s statement is being examined in the light of claims made by then Indian Air Force chief SP Tyagi, an accused in the FIR, that specifications were recommended to be changed by the committee comprising then NSA Narayanan and then SPG chief BV Wanchoo. ‘Unless recommendation by Narayanan and Wanchoo resulted from some malafide intention, they can’t be categorised as accused in the case. So far there is nothing against them and we are treating them as witnesses,’ a CBI official said. Narayanan answered questions relating to 1 March, 2005, meeting in which a decision was taken to reduce ‘service ceiling’ (or the altitude at which a helicopter can fly) from 6,000 m to 4,500 m. This was for the first time that a serving governor was questioned by CBI.
During the questioning spread well over two hours, he explained the rationale behind the decision and also cited that his predecessor in the previous NDA govt Brajesh Mishra had decided to lower the service ceiling in December 2003.
Next Story
