VVIP chopper case: Delhi court grants bail to alleged defence dealer

A Delhi court Saturday granted bail to Sushen Mohan Gupta, an alleged defence agent arrested in a money laundering case related to the Agusta Westland VVIP choppers scam case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumargranted him the relief on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties of like amount.

The court put various condition on the accused, including that he will not tamper with the evidence and not leave country without court's prior permission.

Senior advocate Siddhartha Luthra, appearing for Gupta, had said the accused had always cooperated with the investigation and will be available as and when required by the probe agency as he has deep roots in India.

The application was opposed by ED's special public prosecutors D P Singh and N KMatta, who said the probe was at a initial stage and if granted the relief, the accused may flee from justice and hamper the investigation.

The agency on May 22 had filed a supplementary charge sheet against Gupta, who was arrested by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is currently in judicial custody.

There was clinching evidence of Gupta's role in the chopper scam as well as in various other defence deals, agency's advocateSamvedna Verma told the court.

According to the ED, Gupta's role in the case came to light on the basis of disclosures made by Rajeev Saxena, who turned approver in the case after he was deported from the UAE and arrested by the agency.

It is suspected that Gupta has payment details of the Rs 3,600-crore deal to purchase AgustaWestlandVVIP choppers.