Ex-IAF chief S.P. Tyagi gets bail in AgustaWestland case
New Delhi, Sep 12 : Former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi and others were granted bail by a court here on Wednesday in a money laundering case related to the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.
Special Judge Arvind Kumar asked Tyagi and others, who appeared before him, to furnish a personal bond of Rs one lakh and surety bond of like amount each.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a supplementary charge sheet in the chopper deal case against 34 individuals and foreign and Indian companies, including Tyagi, his two cousins, advocate Gautam Khaitan and Italians Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke.
Former AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini, and Giuseppe Orsi, former chief of Italian defence and aerospace major Finmeccanica, and others were also chargesheeted in the case.
The charge sheet, which mentions money laundering of around 28 million euros, named Orsi, Bruno, Tyagi's cousins Sanjeev Tyagi and Rajiv Tyagi along with Rajeev Saxena, Director of Dubai-based firm Matrix Holdings, his wife Shivani Saxena and Khaitan's wife Ritu Khaitan.
Among the Indian and foreign companies named are Aeromatrix Info Solution Ltd, Windsor Group Holdings, Ismax International Ltd, Cricklewood Ltd, Long Lasting Ltd, Matrix Holding Pvt Ltd, UHY Saxena, Dubai Interstellar Technologies Ltd, O.P. Khaitan and Co International Mediterranean Consulting, Tunisia Infotech Design Systems, Gordian Services, Finmeccanica SPA and AgustaWestland.
The ED said kickbacks were paid by AgustaWestland through two different channels -- one handled by middleman Christian Michel James and the other by Gerosa and Haschke.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) too has filed a charge sheet in the case.
On January 1, 2014, India cancelled a contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF, over alleged breach of contractual obligations and on charges of paying kickbacks totalling Rs 423 crore.
The CBI alleged that the then Indian Air Force chief took bribes of several crores from AgustaWestland through the middlemen -- and a complex set of companies in several countries -- to change specifications of the contract.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms likely to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday; IMD issues warning
Dehradun/Pithoragarh (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rain and hailstorms across several districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, as temperatures remained markedly below normal in the region.
Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Most places across all districts are expected to receive light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while higher reaches are likely to witness snowfall, officials said on Monday.
The weather department warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and intense spells of rain in six districts, including Dehradun and Nainital. Gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at isolated locations in these areas and other hilly districts.
In the state capital, Dehradun, the sky is forecast to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Maximum temperatures during the past 24 hours remained markedly below normal in the hills and appreciably below normal in the plains. While no significant change in temperature is expected over the next 2-3 days, the IMD predicts a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Rainfall was recorded in several areas after 8.30 am today, with Ramnagar receiving 31.5 mm and Nainital recording 26.5 mm. Other areas, including Pithoragarh, Khatima and Champawat, also reported moderate precipitation.
Authorities have stopped a batch of 36 Adi Kailash pilgrims at the Dharchula base camp and placed the high-altitude yatra route on high alert following heavy rains and hailstorms in the district on Monday.
Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said the pilgrimage was halted due to adverse weather conditions. The issuance of new inner-line passes has been suspended until the weather normalises.
With 1,700 passes issued so far, pilgrims already at higher camps are being monitored for safety, the official added.
