From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched simultaneous searches on the premises of senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram, Congress MP, at over a dozen locations in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and one each in Punjab, Karnataka and Odisha since early Tuesday morning.
It also booked Karti for allegedly facilitating visa to some 250 Chinese nationals for illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh taken to work at a power project in Punjab. Residences of both father and son were searched in Delhi while there were searches on three premises in Chennai and three in Mumbai.
A CBI official confirmed that a case has been registered against Karti Chidambaram and others, for allegedly taking money to secure work visas to the Chinese nationals to work at a power project in Punjab. He was mum about the raids on P Chidambaram.
In a tweet, P Chidambaram said: “This morning, a CBI team searched my residence at Chennai and my official residence at Delhi. The team showed me a FIR in which I am not named as an accused. The search team found nothing and seized nothing.
“I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting.”
He did not elaborate what he means by the timing, but the only time one could trace to him is his re-election to the Rajya Sabha on June 10 when the elections are taking place to fill 57 seats. Chidambaram is presently an MP from Maharashtra and his tenure is ending on July 4. He hopes to be renominated from his home state of Tamil Nadu where the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has agreed to give one seat to its alliance partner, Congress.
Karti, who is a Lok Sabha member from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu, resides in the government Bungalow No 80, Lodhi Estate, officially allotted to him as an MP. “I have lost count, how many times has it been? Must be a record,” Karti tweeted. He is already facing allegations of financial irregularities, including in the Mumbai-based INX media case.
Chief Congress spokesman and AICC general Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted in support of P Chidambaram. He said Mr @PChidambaram_IN is a nationalist and a patriot whose commitment to the country is unquestionable. To plant source-based preposterous allegations against a former Home Minister & Finance Minister by CBI reflects the lowest ebb in political discourse.”
CBI VERSION: The CBI also mounted a press note on its official website that says CBI registered a case against five accused on certain allegations including bribry to facilitate issuance of Visa to a Chinese company beyond ceiling.
The press note says: “CBI has registered a case against five accused including private persons based at Chennai, Mumbai; private companies based at Mumbai, Mansa (Punjab) etc and unknown public servants & private persons. It has been alleged that the private company based at Mansa was in the process of establishing a 1980 MW thermal power plant at Mansa (Punjab) and establishing of plant was outsourced to a Chinese Company. It has been further alleged that the project was running behind its schedule.
“In order to avoid penal actions for the delay, the said private company of Mansa was trying to bring more and more Chinese persons/professionals for their site at District Mansa (Punjab) and needed Project VISAs over & above the ceiling imposed by Ministry of Home Affairs.
“It has also been alleged that for the said purpose, the Representative of the said private company approached a person based at Chennai through his close associate/front man and thereafter they devised a back-door way to defeat the purpose of ceiling (maximum of Project VISAs permissible to the company’s plant) by granting permission to re-use 263 Project VISAs allotted to the said Chinese company’s officials.
“It has been alleged that in pursuance of the same, the said representative of Mansa based private company submitted a letter to Ministry of Home Affairs seeking approval to re-use the Project VISAs allotted to this company, which was approved within a month and permission was issued to the company.
“A bribe of Rs. 50 Lakh was allegedly demanded by said private person based at Chennai through his close associate/Front man which was paid by the said Mansa based private company.
“It has been further alleged that the payment of said bribe was routed from Mansa based private company to said private person of Chennai and his close associate/Front man through a Mumbai based company as payment of false invoice raised for Consultancy and out of pocket expenses for Chinese VISAs related works whereas the private company based at Mumbai was never in any kind of work relating to VISAs rather it was in an entirely different business of industrial knives.
“Searches are being conducted today at around 10 places including in Chennai, Mumbai, Koppal (Karnataka), Jharsuguda (Orissa), Mansa (Punjab) & Delhi etc. Investigation is continuing.”
