Summoned in VVIP choppers case, Kamal Nath's nephew leaves ED office on pretext of going to washroom
New Delhi, Jul 27: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's nephew Ratul Puri could not be questioned by the ED in connection with the VVIP choppers money laundering case here as he left the agency's office soon after reaching, officials said on Saturday.
They said Puri was to be confronted with some evidence during questioning at an Enforcement Directorate office here on Friday.
He was asked to wait but he reportedly left after some time on the pretext of going to the washroom, officials alleged.
It is understood that agency officials then tried to call him on his mobile phone but it was switched off.
"It is not true that Puri gave the slip during questioning," a senior official said.
Puri, chairman of Hindustan Power Projects, has been grilled by the agency in this case in the past too. He is the son of Nita and Deepak Puri, the CMD of optical storage media firm Moser Baer. Nita Puri is Nath's sister.
The 3,600 crore deal to purchase AgustaWestland choppers for VVIPs was scrapped by India over allegations of corruption and kickbacks being paid in the deal.
The ED and the CBI are probing the case and have already filed multiple charge sheets in the case.
Meanwhile, during the day, Puri got interim relief from arrest till Monday from a Delhi court in a money laundering case related to the chopper scam.
He had said he was cooperating in the probe and there was no need of his arrest.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
