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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Dense fog disrupts operations at Delhi airport; 228 flights cancelled, 5 diverted
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport on Monday, with various airlines cancelling 228 flights and diverting five to nearby airports due to low visibility, an official said.
However, except for Air India, which had in an X post in the morning announced the cancellation of some 40 flights, no other airlines, including crisis-hit IndiGo, shared the numbers of their cancelled or delayed flights.
"As many as 228 flights -- 131 departures and 97 arrivals-- have been cancelled due to low visibility, so far," the airport official said.
In addition to this, five flights have been diverted so far, he said.
Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), in a statement, said, "Our on-ground officials are working closely with all stakeholders to assist passengers and provide necessary support across Terminals.
"Low visibility (below minima), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control," IndiGo said in a statement.
As operations are adjusted to prevailing weather conditions, some flights may experience delays, while a few others may be proactively cancelled during the day to prioritise safety and minimise extended waiting at the airport, the airline said in a statement.
IndiGo, however, did not say how many of its flights were cancelled or delayed.
The airline said its teams are "closely monitoring" the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport.
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IndiGo also said it issued advisories to its customers and "proactively" informing them, to minimise inconvenience.
“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. We are closely monitoring conditions and will resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so,” Air India said in a post on X in the morning.
It also said that some flights have been cancelled In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for the guests, while listing out some 40 arrivals and departures that it had cancelled for the day.
Delhi airport is the country's busiest, handling around 1,300 flight movements daily.
