Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Roy wanted to know who has taken bribe in the deal to buy 12 VVIP helicopters.
'I think Ratan felt he had to do everything that he could to retain control of the company started by his forefathers, because that was the first priority and nothing else mattered compared to that.'
The CBI argued before the high court that each day Tyagi remained out on bail would lead to its line of investigation being "exposed" and "hampered" and the evidence could also be destroyed.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought from the defence ministry documents related to the AgustaWestland helicopter deal as it prepares to question suspected beneficiaries about alleged kickbacks received in the Rs 3600 crore deal.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday met top officials of the Italian government-controlled Finmeccanica group, parent company of AgustaWestland helicopters, who promised assistance in probing bribery allegations against some Indian nationals.
At least 12 benchmarks were changed between March and October 2009, including some relating to pilot safety, to reportedly allow PC-7 Mark II, fielded by Swiss company Pilatus, to qualify and win an IAF order worth Rs 3,780 crore for 75 basic trainer aircraft.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiaya has written a detailed petition to the Central Bureau of Investigation, seeking an investigation into the alleged link between Emmar MGF and AugustaWestland, the British firm embroiled in the VVIP chopper scam.
In an unprecedented move, defence ministry issues detailed chronology of action on both the background to the decision to buy and what action it took since the first reports of alleged corruption appeared in the media. Ajay Shukla reports
Govt said that it will take "suitable action" against Finmeccanica.
'As she was dragged off the yacht, the princess cried, "I won't go back to the UAE, just kill me now!"' 'She hasn't been heard of since then.' 'Perhaps she is dead.' 'If so, Modi's government has blood on its hands,' notes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
The Army has asked the defence ministry to investigate the charges that a Brigadier had sought a bribe of Rs 25 crore from AgustaWestland to help it bag the deal for supplying 197 light choppers before taking any decision on the tender.
Expanding its probe, the Central Bureau of Investigation has shared crucial documents with the Enforcement Directorate showing money trail of the alleged Rs 362-crore kickback in the VVIP chopper deal with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland.
The defence ministry has got the 'contract' between AgustaWestland and alleged middleman Christian Michel regarding the controversial VVIP helicopter Rs 3600-crore deal with India.
Stung by the alleged scam in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, the defence ministry is now busy tweaking the defence procurement policy that it hopes to unveil in mid-April this year.
The Enforcement Directorate will begin a full-fledged criminal probe into the alleged kickbacks received in the Rs 3600-crore VVIP chopper deal once prima facie violation of money laundering laws is detected.
A country that can launch a 229-tonne rocket with seven international satellites into space does not need to import trucks, howitzers or helicopters, says Claude Arpi, who was present at the PSLV launch in Sriharikota on Monday.
Whether it is the chopper deal, the Kurien case or the anti-rape ordinance, divisions in the Opposition ranks on these issues has eased the pressure on the UPA government, feels Sunita Moga
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday virtually rejected the government's proposal for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the VVIP helicopter deal, saying that the move was aimed at scuttling the probe as current Lok Sabha's term will end next year.
The defence ministry on Friday scrapped a scam-tainted tender worth over Rs 6,000 crore to procure 197 light helicopters from foreign vendors and decided to allow indigenous players to manufacture these choppers for the armed forces.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has engaged two law firms in Italy for liaisoning with the authorities to get legal assistance in probing the role of Indians in connection with the alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.
In the thick of allegations of the Rs 3,600 crore scam in the deal of 12 helicopters to India, Italian company Finmeccanica Tuesday said it is ready to cooperate with Indian authorities to clarify the matter.
In the thick of allegations of the Rs 3,600 crore scam in the deal of 12 helicopters to India, Italian company Finmeccanica on Monday said it is ready to cooperate with authorities here to clarify the matter.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has convened an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday to ensure smooth functioning of the Budget Session of Parliament, which begins on February 21.
'Parsis are brought up with a great sense of the importance of truth and speaking your mind.'
An Italian court, hearing the VVIP chopper deal scam case, has rejected India's request for documents related to the investigations into the matter, arguing that the "information is covered by secrecy".
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday said that all procedures were followed by the United Progressive Alliance government in the controversial VVIP chopper deal. "I don't think it is right to politicise the issue. It is a matter of national interest. All procedures were strictly followed by the government," he told n journalists accompanying him on a two-day visit to Bangladesh.
The Rs 1,700 crore contract is for 98 Blackshark heavyweight torpedoes for the navy's six Scorpene submarines. Ajai Shukla reports
Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday admitted that "somebody has taken money" in the AgustaWestland chopper deal that is mired by bribery allegations.As the Central Bureau of Investigation probes the bribery allegations into the controversial Rs 3,600 crore deal for the supply of VVIP choppers by the Anglo-Italian firm, Antony vowed that no mercy would be shown to anyone who has taken bribes. It is alleged that the deal involved Rs 362 crore in kickbacks.
'We seem to be reliving the sleaziest days of the 1980s,' says T V R Shenoy. 'Defence purchases are made under controversial circumstances, and nobody is held accountable... Shoddy staffwork leads to suspects leaving India, and it is virtually impossible to lay hands on them again once they are out... The same shabby acts of commission and omission. The same stale excuses...'
Defence Ministry A K Antony has asked AgustaWestland to explain within one week its linkages with software companies allegedly used as a cover for paying kickbacks in the VVIP chopper deal.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday received a fresh set of documents from the defence ministry related to the Rs 3600 crore AgustaWestland helicopter deal as it prepares to start from next week questioning of suspects over alleged kickbacks paid in India. CBI sources said the defence ministry has provided them with a new set of documents related to the deal but declined to give details.
Moving forward in its probe into alleged kickbacks in the VVIP helicopter deal, the Central Bureau of Investigation has procured some documents from Italian authorities in Milan that may help it in determining whether any Indian had received bribes to swing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for speaking in different tunes over the need to cancel the VVIP chopper deal with AgustaWestland, and said that the main opposition party would like to know is it a cover-up exercise, which has begun.
British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Mumbai on Monday morning on a three-day India visit during which will he meet captains of industry and hold talks with top leaders, who are likely to seek more information on the VVIP helicopters scam involving an Anglo-Italian firm.
The country has learnt that corruption in defence deals is a fact of life, and has to be dealt with maturely, says T N Ninan
India on Friday made a fresh request to Italy for information on alleged kickbacks in supply of Rs 3600-crore worth of AgustaWestland's VVIP helicopters.
Italy's state-controlled AgustaWestland had allegedly kept aside Rs 217 crore as part of "corrupt activity" to bag India's Rs 3,600 crore deal and its choppers became eligible only after certain required parameters were altered in the tender document.
Amid the charges and counter-charges over the AgustaWestland issue, the Congress on Friday accused the Modi government of "working overtime" tapping the phones of opposition, civil servants and judges.
It is too premature to point a finger at former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi. India's mind-boggling acquisition procedure is so complex that no foreign agency can handle the deal without involving a middleman, Air Marshal (retired) B K Pandey tells rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa
Amidst allegations of deviation from the tendering process, the government on Wednesday put off the decision on a proposal to procure 197 light helicopters, a move that comes against the backdrop of a scam in another chopper deal involving complainant AgustaWestland of Italy.
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