Tatra deal: Vectra chief Ravi Rishi questioned again

The CBI on Monday continued questioning Ravi Rishi, the owner of Vectra group and an accused in the Tatra trucks deal.

The CBI on Monday continued questioning Ravi Rishi, the owner of Vectra group and an accused in the Tatra trucks deal.

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Rishi left the CBI headquarters in the evening but his movements and residence are under close watch.

“From Friday onwards, we have been questioning him. He is a British passport holder and we don't want him to leave the country till our investigation is over. We have called him for questioning again on Tuesday but till the time he appears before the investigators, we will keep him under watch. A lookout circular has already been issued so that he cannot flee from the country,” said a source.

Rishi has been accused of colluding with (so far) unknown officials of state-owned Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and ministry of defence for the supply of Tatra heavy duty trucks to the army.

The defence procurement guidelines clearly state that all purchases should be made only from the original equipment manufacturer but it is alleged that the procurement of Tatra trucks by the BEML was routed through Rishi-owned Vectra group company.

“We have sought some documents on the Tatra deal from Rishi, which he says are in London as his company is based there. He has been asked to make arrangements for providing those documents here,” said a CBI official.

The CBI is checking Rish’s antecedents to see whether he is wanted in any other criminal case in India.

Investigators are also looking into the allegations of his links with a European helicopter manufacturer for defence and commercial deals in India.

Investigators are also verifying whether Rishi was close to a suspended IAS couple in Madhya Pradesh.