Invisible hand prevented probe earlier in AgustaWestland deal: Manohar Parrikar

NEW DELHI: Taking a strong position in Parliament on the VVIP chopper scam, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Wednesday that roles of all those named in the Italian court judgement will be investigated. He went on to allege that an “invisible hand” was guiding investigations during United Progressive Alliance’s term. Parrikar was referring to the Milan Court of Appeals judgement, which was first reported by ET.
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The Italian court’s judgement contains names of several Indian politicians and government officials, though not all have been indicted. In the debate, the names of Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Ahmed Patel cropped up many times amid allegations of kickbacks in the chopper deal.



While Parrikar himself did not specify the names, he did emphasise that all those mentioned in the order, even in a “cursory manner”, would be probed.

“The main action required is to trace, detect and unmask the means of these corrupt practices and bribery through an inquiry by the investigative agencies. This inquiry will also focus on the roles of those named in the judgement of the Italian court,” the minister said at the conclusion of a heated debate in the Rajya Sabha on the deal.

Also read: Chopper deal debate: Bankruptcy, GST bills immediate casualty in Rajya Sabha

For our complete coverage on the AugustaWestland VVIP helicopters bribery case, read the stories here.

The minister also made references to a mysterious fire in South Block in June 2014. The fire, he said, destroyed many documents related to the chopper case. But one file survived the fire, Parrikar said, as it was in the drawer of the official concerned. The minister then quoted from one of the documents in the file saying that after the AgustaWestland AW-101 choppers were delivered in 2013, they could not perform effectively in Srinagar with the Indian Air Force noting that the helicopter did not have enough power.

Parrikar used this point to make the charge that the entire selection process for AW-101 choppers was vitiated and influenced by officials and politicians to favour AgustaWestland even though it did not meet at least two key operational requirements.

The minister also criticised the probe by Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate during UPA’s tenure, saying that even after a delayed CBI complaint was lodged in February 2013, ED did not investigate the complaint for at least nine months.

“It appears that some invisible hand was guiding the actions or inactions by CBI and ED,” Parrikar said. He said that since taking over, the National Democratic Alliance government has requested for expediting the probe and has initiated action for the arrest and extradition of three middlemen in the deal, including British national Christian Michel and Italian Guido Haschke.