Chopper case: Tyagi, 2 others sent to jail till Dec 30

Former Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi was on Saturday sent to judicial custody till December 30 after CBI said he was not required for further custodial interrogation in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

Special CBI judge Arvind Kumar also sent Tyagi's cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan, co-accused in the case related to procurement of 12 VVIP choppers from UK-based firm during the UPA-2 regime, to jail after the probe agency did not seek their further custody.

After the agency's submission, all the three accused moved their bail applications, which will be heard on December 21 as the CBI sought time to reply to the applications.

During the proceedings, the counsel appearing for Tyagi submitted before the court that the Italian top court had ordered retrial of ex-Finmeccanica executives in VVIP chopper scam case, which makes CBI's stand weak in the current case. The court, however, said it will take up the matter on next date of hearing on December 21.

The court had on December 14 extended the CBI remand of Tyagi and the two others by three days after CBI had said it was a "very serious" case requiring interrogation to unearth larger conspiracy as "interest of the nation was compromised".

The agency had earlier submitted in the court: "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."