Bofors papers handed over to India, after seven long years

After seven years of tortuous efforts, the Indian government finally secured the Swiss bank documents linked to the kickbacks in the Bofors howitzer deal on Tuesday.

Swiss federal police department deputy director Rudolph Wyss handed over the documents in a sealed box to Indian ambassador K P Balakrishnan at a function at parliament house at 1000 hours local time, in Berne.

The documents -- relating to secret Swiss bank accounts including those code-named Lotus, Tulip and Mont Blanc in which some of the kickbacks allegedly received by middlemen in the $ 1.4 billion deal was deposited -- were made over to Balakrishnan in sealed packets at a function where Central Bureau of Investigation Director Joginder Singh was present.

Ambassador Balakrishnan then turned the packets over to Singh, who arrived in Berne on Monday night at the head of the CBI team which includes the agency's joint director P R Dubey and additional secretary in the Union ministry of personnel, G A Chaudhary.

The documents and the cardboard box in which these were kept together weighed about four kg.

Wyss made a brief statement on the occasion. In reply, ambassador Balakrishnan thanked the Swiss authorities for handing over the documents and appreciated ''their close co-operation.''

''This is an important step in the implementation of the agreement between India and Switzerland regarding mutual assistance in criminal matters,'' he said.

Singh is expected to stay in the Swiss capital for another day before returning to Delhi where the sealed box will be presented to the designated CBI court handling the Bofors case.

The seal of the packets will be opened only after that.

'The real investigation starts now,'' Singh said a short while after receiving the documents. He told United News of India that the CBI had to work a little harder to find out the recepients of the alleged kickbacks.

The documents will reside in the embassy's strong room before they are flown to Delhi.

Discussing the concern over the safety of the documents in transit or in India, the CBI director said there was no need for any such fear as the Swiss authorities had provided ''only attested photocopies of the documents.''

''The originals are still in the custody of the Swiss government,'' Singh said.

The documents, handed over following more than seven years of persistent efforts by the CBI, including letter rogatories (letters of request) to the Swiss government seeking details of the accounts, will lead to the resumption of the trial in the case, which had been suspended pending acquisition of the bank papers.

The same documents have also been sought by Swedish intelligence officials inquiring into the assassination of prime minister Olaf Palme who was shot dead on a Stockholm street shortly before the deal was signed.

The Palme commission investigating the assassination has held that the Bofors papers contains much that is of interest to them and may help to finally solve the mystery murder.

Towards that purpose, the commission is expected to request the CBI for permission to access the material.

For India it took seven years of gruelling labour to prise free the documents. "For Sweden it could mean much less time, if they try assiduously,'' says Folco Galli at the ministry of justice in Berne.

But even though Swedish Weapons Export Minister Leif Pagrotsky has declared that the government will do all in its power to secure the relevant documents, Sweden has not yet submitted an official request -- letter rogatory -- to date.

Despite the bravado, Congressmen rattled by Bofors papers