Chopper case: Ex-IAF chief Tyagi’s CBI remand extended

Ex-IAF chief SP Tyagi will undergo further custodial questioning for three more days as CBI on Wednesday told a court that AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam was a “very serious” case requiring his interrogation to unearth the larger conspiracy as the “interest of the nation was compromised”.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar extended his custody till December 17 along with that of his cousin Sanjeev alias Julie and advocate Gautam Khaitan, also accused in Rs 450 crore chopper deal bribery case.

CBI, however, had sought extension of their custody by seven days, saying, “Its a very wide and serious case and some accused and firms from abroad were also involved in the conspiracy. Right now we are handicapped due to want of material.

“It is a very high-profile case and we need proper material. One part of the crime was committed in India while various other angles are in foreign land,” CBI said, noting that it has received help from various countries including Italy, Mauritius, Switzerland and the UK.

The agency said that their further custodial interrogation was required to reach the bottom of the conspiracy.

However, the counsel appearing for S P Tyagi opposed CBI’s plea, saying that he was “a decorated war hero of the nation” and “CBI, which was termed as ‘a caged parrot’ by the Supreme Court, is trying to tarnish his image”.

“The FIR only says that the ex-ACM ‘also’ received some amount of cash. It is just a vague allegation,” Tyagi’s counsel said.

The counsel submitted that S P Tyagi has already been confronted with his cousin and enough confrontation had taken place much before his arrest.

“This arrest was made only for humiliation and not for confrontation,” the counsel said.

The court had on December 10 sent the three accused to four days’ CBI custody, which expired on Wednesday, in the case related to procurement of 12 VVIP choppers from UK-based firm during the UPA-2 regime.

During the last hearing, Tyagi’s counsel had claimed that the decision to procure VVIP choppers from AgustaWestland was a “collective” one and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was also a part of it.

CBI had alleged that Tyagi had “abused his official position” and when he was the Air Chief Marshal, he had made huge investments in land and other properties and had not disclosed the source his income.

Tyagi’s counsel had refuted CBI’s claim, saying, “As per the allegations, conspiracy and money transaction were going on much before my client came into picture.” 

The counsel appearing for the other two arrested accused had also opposed CBI’s case saying the FIR was lodged over three years ago and there were no fresh grounds to arrest them at this stage.