CBI books Karti Chidambaram yet again, raids premises in cash-for-visa case

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 17

The CBI has registered a fresh case against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram for allegedly facilitating visas of 263 Chinese nationals for a power company in lieu of alleged illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh around 11 years ago while his father P Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister, officials said.

Agency sleuths conducted searches at 10 locations across the country, including official and residential premises of Chidambram father-son duo in Chennai and Delhi. Other places covered included Mansa (Punjab), Koppal (Karnataka) and Jharsuguda (Odisha). In his initial reaction, Karti tweeted: "I have lost count, how many times has it been? Must be a record.” In another tweet, he said, “My office has just updated on the ‘record’ twice in 2015, once in 2017, twice in 2018 and today :) 6 (sic)!” Senior Chidambram also tweeted in Hindi and English confirming that a CBI team searched his residence in Chennai and his official residence in Delhi. “The team showed me an FIR in which I am not named as an accused. The search team found nothing and seized nothing,” he said, adding, “I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting.”

In the fresh FIR, which is an offshoot of an ongoing probe in the INX media case, the CBI has alleged that Karti allegedly received Rs 50 lakh bribe to facilitate the visa of 263 Chinese nationals during the UPA regime for Talwandi Sabo power project in July-August, 2011, while his father was the Union Home Minister. Talwandi Sabo Power Limited spokesperson is reported to have said: “The searches at our Punjab facility have been part of a larger CBI investigation. We are extending full cooperation…. We have no further comments.”

Besides Karti, the CBI has also named his close associate S Bhaskararaman, representative of Talwandi Sabo power project Vikas Makharia, who allegedly offered the bribe, the company Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, Mumbai-based Bell Tools Limited through which bribe was allegedly routed and unidentified persons in an FIR under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Congress has put its weight behind father-son duo, saying the raids were “wrong” and aimed at diverting attention from key issues of inflation and unemployment. It also said, “P Chidambaram is a nationalist and patriot whose commitment to the country is beyond question.”

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