VVIP chopper scam: Delhi court sends Rajeev Saxena to jail till Feb 18, orders his medical check-up
New Delhi, Feb 12: A Delhi court Tuesday sent Rajeev Saxena, arrested in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case, to judicial custody till February 18 and directed the Tihar jail authorities to take him to AIIMS for medical check up.
Special Judge Arvind Kumar ordered the Director AIIMS to file a report regarding the medical condition of Saxena by 2 pm tomorrow.
"Considering the submissions by both the parties and record regarding medical condition of the accused, the jail authority is directed to take the accused to AIIMS immediately for his necessary check up and admission/ treatment," the court said.
"The Director, AIIMS shall file report regarding the medical condition of the accused on February 13 by 2 pm. The accused is permitted to take with him all his medical records copy of which shall be sent by jail authorities to AIIMS for perusal. The jail authorities shall permit the accused to take with him Sleep apnea (sleep disorder) machine and necessary medicines," it added.
The order came after the court was informed that Saxena's health had worsened last night following which he was taken to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital at 1 am after he complained of chest pain.
Saxena was sent to Tihar jail after the agency informed the court that it does not require his custody and the accused may be sent to 14 days judicial custody.
"We are not seeking further remand," said the ED, through lawyer D P Singh.
Saxena, a Dubai-based businessman, was deported from Dubai on January 31 and sent to four-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) the same day.
The probe agency said that last night Saxena's health worsened following which he was taken to LNJP hospital at 1 am where his blood test reports stated that his white blood cell count has shoot up to 14,500.
"Saxena was having severe chest pain and was medically examined and it was detected that there was steep rise in his WBC count. ED is not opposing the bail application of Saxena considering his medical condition," ED said.
Senior advocate Geeta Luthra, appearing for Saxena, told the court that he has cooperated with the investigating agency during investigation.
"He is ready to join the investigation as and when directed," Luthra said while seeking immediate medical check up of his client.
She had further submitted that Saxena was suffering from advanced stage leukemia, radiating back pain, numbness and heaviness in leg, neck pain and muscle spasms.
During the hearing in the morning, Saxena had sought to talk to the judge in private for 15-20 minutes, without the presence of lawyers from both the parties, which the court had allowed.
He told the court that he was not feeling well and has cooperated with the investigating agency and disclosed true facts.
The court listed the matter for hearing on February 13 when his bail plea would be considered.
Last Friday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had sought his custody from the court, saying the probe is at a crucial stage.
Saxena is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by ED in the case.
Christian Michel, former AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica directors Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, former Air Force chief SP Tyagi and Saxena's wife Shivani have also been named by the agency in the charge sheet.
The court had earlier allowed ED's plea seeking extension of his custody on the ground that he was required for confronting with Gautam Khaitan, a Delhi-based lawyer and a co-accused, who was earlier arrested in the case and is in the agency's custody in another case.
ED had said that both Saxena and Khaitan provided global corporate structure to launder money.
The ED alleged that in connivance with Khaitan, Saxena provided a global corporate structure for laundering illegal proceeds of the crime for payment to various political persons, bureaucrats and Air Force officials to influence the contract to supply 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland.
Saxena, a director of two Dubai-based firms - UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings - was picked up by Dubai authorities last Wednesday in connection with the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers money laundering case and deported to India in the evening.
He was residing in Palm Jumeirah, Dubai and has been living in the UAE for last 26 years.
Maintaining that AgustaWestland had paid Euro 58 million as kickbacks through two Tunisia-based firms, ED's advocate Samvedna Verma alleged that "these companies further siphoned off the said money in the name of consultancy contracts to M/s Interstellar Technologies Limited, Mauritius and others which were further transferred to M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings Ltd, Dubai and others".
Saxena is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by the ED. Michel, former AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica directors Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, Tyagi and Saxena's wife Shivani were also named by the agency.
It was alleged by the probe agency that the two Dubai-based firms were the entities "through which the proceeds of crime have been routed and further layered and integrated in buying the immovable properties/ shares, among others" in this case.
On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks of Rs 423 crore paid by it to secure the deal.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
