New Delhi: In a major breakthrough in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland copters deal case, the CBI on Friday arrested former Indian Air Force chief S.P. Tyagi on charges of alleged corruption. The agency also arrested his cousin Sanjiv alias Julie Tyagi and Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan.
This is the first time a former IAF chief has been arrested by the central probe agency. The former IAF chief, Sanjiv Tyagi and Khaitan were called in for questioning at the CBI headquarters on Friday and were arrested when they failed to satisfactorily answer questions that were put to them, said official sources, adding that they were giving conflicting versions during questioning. They will be produced before a designated court on Wednesday.
The CBI had questioned Tyagi, who retired as the Air Force chief in 2007, in the past for the irregularities in the Rs 3,600 crore copter deal over allegations that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore were paid.
In January 2014, the government had cancelled the contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP copters to the Air Force over allegations of bribery.
Tyagi changed deal specifics
The CBI alleged that in a bid to facilitate the deal for Agusta-Westland, Tyagi allegedly influenced the decision to reduce the minimum operational ceiling from from 6,000 to 4,500 metres.
Allegations into the case had first surfaced in 2011 when Italian prosecutors claimed that bribes were paid for procuring 12 high-end VVIP choppers to be used by President, vice-president, Prime Minister and others. In April this year, a Milan Courts of Appeals had indicted Tyagi for receiving kickbacks. Others charged by the Milan court included former CEO and chairman of Finmeccanica Giuseppe Orsi and former CEO of Agusta-Westland Bruno Spagnolini.
The court verdict had led to a huge political uproar with the ruling BJP accusing the former Congress-led UPA government of indulging in corruption. The Agusta-Westland copters were to replace the existing VIP copter squadron, which had been purchased from the erstwhile Soviet Union. Former defence minister had ordered an inquiry following which the case was transferred to the CBI.
