CBI allowed to keep Bofors papers for further probe

CBI allowed to keep Bofors papers for further probe
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, JAN 3: A special court here today allowed CBI to retain the last set of Bofors documents obtained from Switzerland recently for further investigation and asked the agency whether fresh travel documents could be issued to Dubai-based businessman Win Chadha to enable his appearance in the Rs 64-crore pay-offs case.

Special judge Ajit Bharihoke allowed CBI to retain the documents for further investigation following a request made by CBI counsel N Natarajan.The judge asked Natarajan to consult the Ministry of External Affairs regarding the issuance of the fresh travel documents to Chadha and inform the court by January six, the next date of hearing on his plea seeking cancellation of the non-bailable arrest warrant (NBW) against him.The court had issued NBW against Chadha, a former Bofors agent, on December 14 after he failed to appear before it in response to the summons issued in November.

Chadha, accused of receiving a part of the Rs 64-crore pay-off in the Rs 1,437-crore gun deal, had soughtcancellation of the NBW on the ground that he was ready to face trial.

Chadha's counsel Gopal Subramaniam submitted that his client needed fresh travel documents as his passport had been impounded by the authorities in April 1990.

Subramaniam claimed that no summons was served on Chadha by the CBI and the agency obtained NBW from the court on the basis of the "misrepresentation of facts" in this regard.

Subramaniam said fresh summons should be issued to Chadha through proper channel instead of the NBW.

He said CBI very well knew that Chadha did not have the passport as it was impounded by the consulate general of India in Dubai on April 10, 1990 and the summons should have been served on him through the UAE prosecution as per the law there.

CBI counsel Natarajan said the purpose of issuing summons to an accused was just to inform about the case against him, and if Chadha was a law abiding person, he should have responded to the court's directive.

CBI in its chargesheet had named Italianbusinessman Otavio Quattrochhi, former defence secretary S K Bhatnagar and former A B Bofors president Martin Ardbo, besides Chadha.

It had also named the late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as an accused in column two of the chargesheet meant for those not sent for trial.

The A B Bofors company, now renamed as Celsius, was also made an accused by the investigating agency.

The court had also issued fresh NBW against Quattrochhi for the second time on November four following filing of the chargesheet by CBI on October 22.Quattrochhi, in a statement issued from Kuala Lumpur after CBI filed the chargesheet, dismissed the allegations against him as a "document full of lies" and "politically motivated."