CBI today questioned former IAF Chief S P Tyagi and examined lawyer Gautam Khaitan for the first time after an Italian court held that bribes were paid to clinch the Rs 3600 crore VVIP Helicopter deal.
CBI sources said both arrived at the agency headquarters this morning to appear before the investigation team.
While Tyagi is being questioned for the third consecutive day today, Khaitan is appearing for the first time after Milan Court of Appeals order in Italy which claimed bribes were paid to get the lucrative deal.
Khaitan who is an advocate and a former Board member of company Aeromatrix which was allegedly used to route bribe amount is named in the CBI FIR an one of the accused.
The focus of the questioning is his alleged links with Italian middlemen-- Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschkhe, CBI sources said.
CBI had registered a case against Tyagi along with 13 others including his cousins and European middlemen.
The allegation against the former Air Chief was that he reduced flying ceiling of the helicopter from 6,000m to 4,500m (15,000ft)which put AgustaWestland helicopters in the race for the deal without which its choppers were not even qualified for submission of bids.
Tyagi has denied allegations against him and said that the change of specifications, which brought AgustaWestland into contention, was a collective decision in which senior officers of Indian Air Force, SPG, NSA and other departments were involved.
The sources said the arrest of Tyagi is the beginning of
investigation and its not the end and will cover "every gamut" of the contract given to the UK-based AgustaWestland.
In addition to the probe of the alleged bribe which is said to have reached Tyagi and his family members, the CBI sources said the agency is likely to expand its probe to those in in the political arena too.
They said the material, which was produced during the trial in Italy, was received by the agency through Letters Rogatory which will stand as evidence under Section 166 of the CrPC.
They further said the agency will probe every aspect of the alleged bribery including the questioning of people whose names surfaced during the hearing in Italian courts.
During the hearings in Italian courts, a handwritten note was produced by the prosecutors which carried 15 initials some of them were referred to be initials of some influential politicians.
They may be diary entries but if we are able to connect the dots and produce corresponding evidence including the money trail, it will be treated as evidence in the Indian courts, they said while replying to a query that scribbles and diary entries are not treated as evidence in India.
The sources, however, clarified that CBI is trying to get hold of Christian Michel, the alleged middleman, who is based in the UAE and is facing a Red Corner Notice.
They said another middleman Guido Haschke had entered plea bargain in Italian court and his testimonies will be used to examine the alleged role of various people in India.
