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CBI books Karti Chidambaram for facilitating visas to Chinese nationals
The premises searched include Chidambaram Karti’s residence in Chennai, and those in Mumbai, Odisha, Karnataka, and Punjab
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday carried out searches at nine premises linked to Congress leader Karti Chidambaram after registering a fresh case against him for allegedly facilitating visas to Chinese nationals for a project in Punjab in lieu of bribes, people familiar with the matter said.
Chidambaram allegedly received illegal gratification of ₹50 lakh for facilitating around 260 visas to the Chinese citizens so that they could work at a power project in Punjab’s Mansa, said an officer, requesting anonymity. The power project is run by a private company.
The premises searched include Karti Chidambaram’s residence in Chennai, and those linked to him in Mumbai, Odisha, Karnataka, and Punjab. A residence where Karti Chidambaram and his father, Congress leader P Chidambaram, live was also searched.
P Chidambaram was the Union home minister between 2008 and 2012. Visas come under the purview of the home ministry. People aware of the matter said the alleged visa facilitation was done sometime in July-August 2011.
P Chidambaram said a CBI team showed him a copy a First Information Report in which he was not named as an accused. “The search team found nothing and seized nothing. I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting,” he said in a tweet.
Reacting to the raids, Karti Chidambaram said he has lost count of CBI raids. “I have lost count how many times has it been? Must be a record,” he tweeted.
In a tweet, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala called the allegations preposterous. “@PChidambaram_IN is a Nationalist & a Patriot, whose commitment to the country is unquestionable. To plant source based preposterous allegations against a former Home Minister & Finance Minister by CBI reflects the lowest ebb in political discourse.”
P Chidambaram and Karti Chidambaram are also facing separate CBI and the Enforcement Directorate cases involving INX Media and Aircel-Maxis deal.
In the INX Media case, charge sheets were filed in 2019 and 2020. The charge sheets alleged that when P Chidambaram was the finance minister, he misused his office to favour INX Media in lieu of bribes.
A charge sheet was filed against the two in July 2018 in the other case alleging irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s approval for Aircel-Maxis deal.
