CBI questions Karti Chidambaram in ‘bribe-for-visa’ case for 3rd consecutive day
On Saturday, the CBI questioned Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram for the third day in a row as part of its investigation into the alleged Rs 50-lakh bribery for the issuance of 263 project visas to Chinese workers involved in the construction of the Talwandi Sabo power project in 2011, according to officials.
He arrived early in the morning at the CBI headquarters to face the investigation team. The interrogation is expected to last all day, with a lunch break, they said. Since Thursday, the CBI has been questioning Congress leader Karti Chidambaram in the 11-year-old case, which he has described as “most bogus” and the result of “political vendetta.”
His father, P Chidambaram, was the Union Home Minister at the time. The CBI filed a FIR on May 14 against Karti and others, alleging that a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd (TSPL) paid a Rs 50-lakh bribe to him and his close associate S Bhaskararaman in exchange for the re-issuance of Project Visas for 263 Chinese workers.
Project visas were a new type of visa introduced in 2010 for the power and steel industries, with detailed guidelines issued during the tenure of P Chidambaram as Union Home Minister. According to the FIR, there was no provision for re-issuing project visas. In connection with the case, the agency has already detained Bhaskararaman.
Picture Courtesy: Google/Images are subject to copyright
