Chidambaram questioned by ED for 7 hours in Aircel-Maxis case
New Delhi, June 12: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned former Finance Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram for over "seven hours" in the Rs 3,500 crore Aircel-Maxis deal case, officials said.
An ED official said Chidambaram appeared for questioning at the ED office around 11 a.m. He was summoned to appear on June 6, a day after the agency questioned him for over five hours.
The official said that he left around 5.15 p.m.
After coming out of the ED office, Chidambaram reiterated that there is "no FIR and offence" as alleged.
"Another round of questions by ED in Aircel-Maxis case. I remind myself that there is no FIR and no offence is alleged," Chidambaram said in a tweet.
It was the second time time when the Congress leader joined the probe. Earlier, the ED has questioned him on June 5 for over five hours. The ED had issued a fresh summons to him on June 6 to appear before the investigating officer of the case.
The agency recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Earlier, a Delhi court had extended the interim protection to him from arrest till July 10 in connection with the case, after directing him to join the probe whenever required.
The questioning is part of ED's investigation in a money laundering case registered in 2017 against Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED are investigating how Karti Chidambaram allegedly managed to get a clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in the Aircel-Maxis deal when his father was the Union Finance Minister in 2006.
The ED, in September 2017, had attached Rs 1.16 crore worth of assets of Karti Chidambaram, who is being probed for allegedly receiving kickbacks in lieu of the FIPB clearance.
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Yadgir: Six people burnt alive in private bus-car collision on Bidar-Bengaluru Highway in Surapura
Surapura: In a tragic road accident reported from the taluk, six people were burnt alive in a collision between a private bus and a car on the Bidar-Bengaluru Highway near the Shanthapura Cross close to the Thinthani Bridge on Friday morning.
A fire broke out due to the force of the collision, and both vehicles were gutted in the flames.
The bus is learned to have been traveling from Lingasugur to Kalaburagi, and the car was going towards Lingasugur. While none of the passengers in the bus was reportedly endangered in the accident, all six people traveling the car died in the accident and are learned to have burnt in the fire.
The local fire brigade has successfully doused the flames.
Inspector Umesh M and team of the Surapura Police Station is learned to have arrived at the accident spot and conducted an inspection.
The skulls of four people are said to have been found among the debris.
