The arrest of former Air Chief S.P. Tyagi has affected the morale of the personnel and dented the image of the force, Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Arup Raha said on Monday.
“It is a very unfortunate episode that a person of his stature has been indicted by the CBI and other investigating agencies and he has been put under custody. So obviously it does hurt the morale of the people and the armed forces. I can’t say that it doesn’t dent our image or reputation. It definitely does…,” ACM Raha said in an interview to NDTV.
Arrested on December 9
Former Air Chief Tyagi was arrested by the CBI on December 9 in connection with allegations of corruption in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case. A Special Court on Monday granted him bail while pulling up the CBI for failing to show evidence on how much cash was paid to him and when.
Terming the “accusations” against ACM Tyagi “unfortunate,” ACM Raha said, “I will be very happy if he can acquit himself, after all he was our former Chief.” He expressed confidence that the judicial process will be completed very quickly. “Whatever is the judicial process. We will accept it… We are just hoping that things settle down quickly.”
Some former service chiefs had come out in support of Tyagi and expressed concern at the manner in which he was put in custody with “common criminals.” When asked, ACM Raha said he “agrees,” but declined to comment further as he is a “government servant.”
