Visa rip-off case: Karti Chidambaram prone to seem earlier than CBI on May 25

By PTI

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram is prone to seem earlier than the CBI on Wednesday to hitch the investigation into an alleged rip-off pertaining to the issuance of visa to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the house minister, officers mentioned.

Karti, who has gone on a visit to the UK and Europe with the permission of the Supreme Court and a particular CBI courtroom, is scheduled to return on Tuesday.

According to the particular CBI courtroom’s order, he has to hitch the CBI investigation inside 16 hours of his return.

The case pertains to allegations of Rs 50 lakh being paid as bribe to Karti and his shut affiliate S Bhaskararaman by a prime government of Vedanta group firm Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL), which was setting an influence plant in Punjab, the CBI FIR mentioned.

According to the CBI, the work for organising the facility mission was being executed by a Chinese firm and was operating delayed.

A TSPL government had sought re-issuance of mission visa for 263 Chinese staff for which Rs 50 lakh allegedly exchanged arms, in keeping with the CBI FIR.

Karti Chidambaram has denied all allegations and mentioned ” if this is not harassment, not a witch hunt, then what is.”

In an announcement issued on Tuesday, he mentioned, “I am heading back home today, as was planned when I left 2 weeks ago for a work/ family-visit trip to UK and Europe. It does not intimidate me that the central government is once again using its agencies to accuse me of a malicious and completely fabricated charge.”

“Previously, the agencies have gone after me based on the statement of an undertrial murder suspect. Now, they are basing their bogus charges on the alleged actions of a deceased person, whom I have never met. I intend to continue to fight every one of their motivated attempts to target my father through me,” he mentioned.

The MP mentioned, “For what it’s worth, however, I firmly state that I am not associated with this visa issue directly, indirectly, vicariously or even telepathically! The allegations against me by the CBI are ludicrous, to say the least. I categorically deny all of them.”

The company has alleged that Bhaskararaman was approached by Vikas Makharia, the then affiliate vice chairman of TSPL, for the reissue of mission visas for 263 Chinese staff working on the Mansa-based energy plant.

The CBI FIR, which accommodates the findings of the investigating officer who probed the PE, has alleged that Makharia approached Karti by his “close associate/front man” Bhaskararaman, the officers mentioned.

“They devised a back-door way to defeat the purpose of ceiling (maximum of project visas permissible to the company’s plant) by granting permission to reuse 263 project visas allotted to the said Chinese company’s officials,” it was alleged.

Project visas have been a particular sort of visa launched in 2010 for the facility and metal sector for which detailed tips have been issued throughout P Chidambaram’s tenure as the house minister however there was no provision of reissue of mission visas, the FIR alleged.

“As per prevalent guidelines, deviation in rare and exceptional cases could be considered and granted only with the approval of the home secretary. However, in view of the above circumstances, the deviation in terms of reuse of project visas is likely to be approved by the then Home Minister…,” it additional alleged.

The CBI in its FIR on May 14 has named as accused Karti, Bhaskararaman, Makharia, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL), and Mumbai-based Bell Tools Limited by which bribes have been allegedly routed.

The case was registered below IPC sections 120-B (felony conspiracy) and 477A(falsification of accounts) and sections 8 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, they mentioned.

Makharia allegedly submitted a letter to the house ministry on July 30, 2011, searching for approval to reuse the mission visas allotted to his firm, which was permitted inside a month and permission was issued, the officers mentioned.

It alleged that the cost of the bribe was routed from TSPL to Karti and Bhaskararaman by Mumbai-based Bell Tools Ltd with funds camouflaged below two invoices raised for consultancy and out-of-pocket bills for works associated to visas for the Chinese staff.

Makharia had later thanked Karti and Bhaskararaman on electronic mail, it added.