Former IAF Chief S P Tyagi’s arrest by the CBI in Augusta Westland chopper deal has been described by the serving IAF Chief Arup Raha as “unfortunate ”. A serving chief can go thus far and not beyond. It is nobody’s case that Tyagi accused of wrong doing should not be made to face the legal consequences of any alleged acts of omission or commission. As of now what has been held against him is his alleged tweaking of specifications to suit the purchase of Augusta Westland helicopters. According to Tyagi, the decision to lower the altitude criteria was a collective one and not entirely his own. Given the elaborate decision making process for procuring high-value defence equipment, Tyagi’s defence cannot be brushed aside lightly. In the meantime, the beleaguered Cyrus Mistry, the sacked TATA Sons chairman, fired a fresh salvo by implicating Vijay Singh, former Defence Secretary in the deal. Will the CBI follow it up?
What comes as a surprise is that the arrest comes more than three and half years since the FIR was filed in this case. Tyagi has been cooperating with the CBI during its investigation. Even if the CBI is now in possession of fresh incriminating evidence, there is no reason he cannot be confronted with such alleged evidence without his arrest? A greater degree of circumspection was called for. One is not too sure whether his arrest coming as it did immediately after the appointment of acting CBI director, was merely a coincidence. One hopes, Tyagi is not used as a pawn in the larger political game plan.
S K Choudhury, Bengaluru
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