
AgustaWestland scam: CBI quizzes WB governor
New Delhi, June 27 (IBNS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has quizzed West Bengal governor M K Narayanan in connection with the AugustaWestland chopper deal, said reports on Friday.
Narayanan, who was a National Security Advisor in 2005 during the deal, was questioned as a witness in the case on Friday.
The present BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the centre wants to replace Narayanan as theGovernor of West Bengal.
Earlier, the government had issued show cause notice to the AgustaWestland of UK, a subsidiary of Italian defence giant Finmeccanica, on bribery charges in the Rs.4000-crore VVIP chopper deal.
Besides bribing Indian officials for a 12-helicopter deal, Finmeccanica discussed kickbacks for a larger deal with a serving Brigadier in the Indian Army, Italian prosecutors had said.
The report by the investigators said that an alleged middleman for helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, touched the feet of former Air Force chief SP Tyagi.
The scandal scandal involved kickbacks worth upto Rs 360 crores for the deal that was worth about Rs 4,000 crores and allegedly took place during the tenure of Tyagi who headed the air force from 2004 to 2007.
Tyagi had denied the allegations and said that he met one of the alleged AgustaWestland middlemen just once contrary to the charges of "six or seven" meetings.
The middleman Ralph Haschke "confessed" that he met Tyagi six or seven times and once greeted him by touching his feet as a sign of respect, the Italian prosecutors said.
The Italian inquiry also found that in 2003, a serving Brigadier of the Indian Army allegedly demanded $5 million dollars to influence a contract for 197 light helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland.
Earlier, the government had issued show cause notice to the AgustaWestland of UK, a subsidiary of Italian defence giant Finmeccanica, on bribery charges in the Rs.4000-crore VVIP chopper deal.
Besides bribing Indian officials for a 12-helicopter deal, Finmeccanica discussed kickbacks for a larger deal with a serving Brigadier in the Indian Army, Italian prosecutors had said.
The report by the investigators said that an alleged middleman for helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, touched the feet of former Air Force chief SP Tyagi.
The scandal scandal involved kickbacks worth upto Rs 360 crores for the deal that was worth about Rs 4,000 crores and allegedly took place during the tenure of Tyagi who headed the air force from 2004 to 2007.
Tyagi had denied the allegations and said that he met one of the alleged AgustaWestland middlemen just once contrary to the charges of "six or seven" meetings.
The middleman Ralph Haschke "confessed" that he met Tyagi six or seven times and once greeted him by touching his feet as a sign of respect, the Italian prosecutors said.
The Italian inquiry also found that in 2003, a serving Brigadier of the Indian Army allegedly demanded $5 million dollars to influence a contract for 197 light helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland.
Top Headlines
-
News
'Change is imminent, embrace the reality': Education sector stares at transformation in age of AI
August 31, 2025
-
News
Global Collaboration Forum, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park ink MoU to support startups ahead of London summit
August 30, 2025
-
News
India Setu curtain raiser showcases AI, healthcare, and conservation as drivers of global collaboration
August 27, 2025
-
News
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla meets PM Modi, gifts tri-colour that travelled to space
August 18, 2025
-
News
Putin dials Modi amid US tariffs, shares insight on recent meeting with Trump in Alaska
August 18, 2025
-
News
Trumps tariff threat vs. Indias economic will: Why 50% duties wont derail our growth
August 08, 2025
-
News
Rift in INDIA bloc as Priyanka Chaturvedi slams Trump's 'Indian economy is dead' remark contradicting with Rahul
July 31, 2025
-
News
London to host maiden thought leadership summit IndiSetu to boost India-UK innovation and cultural ties
July 30, 2025
-
News
'No calls between Modi and Trump from April 22 to June 17': Jaishankar rejects US Prez's ceasefire claim
July 28, 2025
-
News
IBCN 2025: Celebrating the Chettiar legacy, powering youthful enterprise
July 11, 2025