A Delhi court on Saturday remanded former Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi and two other accused to CBI custody in the Augusta Westland VVIP helicopter bribery case, saying that "their custodial interrogation is required for a fair investigation.''
Duty Magistrate Sujit Saurabh remanded Mr. Tyagi, his counsin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan to police custody till December 14.
"Keeping in view the seriousness of the allegations and the gravity of the matter, I am of the considered opinion that their interrogation was required for a fair investigation," the Magistrate said.
Counsel for the three counsel opposed the CBI plea for police custody, submitting that there were no new circumstances warranting their police remand for interrogation, while counsel for the CBI submitted that they had got new materials in the case, therefore, they were required to be interrogated on those facts. The investigating agency had arrested them on Friday.
Mr. Tyagi had allegedly entered into a conspiracy with the other accused persons in 2005 and conceded to change the Air Force’s consistent stand that the 6,000-meter service ceiling of VVIP helicopters was an inescapable operational necessity. It was reduced to 4,500 meter. This helped AgustaWestland to meet the eligibility criteria for the contract. The kickbacks were received through middlemen and relatives, the CBI alleged.
