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INX Media case: Chidambaram brought face to face with ex-NITI Aayog CEO by CBI
Officials, who did not wish to be named, said Khullar arrived at the CBI headquarters on Monday morning but the questioning could not be completed as Chidambaram had to be taken to a special court. The probe agency is expected to continue questioning her on Tuesday.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has called former NITI Aayog CEO Sindhushree Khullar to face former finance minister P Chidambaram in connection with the INX Media case.
Officials, who did not wish to be named, said Khullar arrived at the CBI headquarters on Monday morning but the questioning could not be completed as Chidambaram had to be taken to a special court. The probe agency is expected to continue questioning her on Tuesday.
The retired IAS officer Khullar was the additional secretary in the finance ministry during the period when the developments related to the INX Media allegedly took place, officials said. Khullar was appointed the first chief executive officer of NITI Aayog, which had replaced the Planning Commission in January 2015.
The case of corruption relates to the alleged irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to the media group for foreign investment worth ₹305 crore in 2007, when Chidambaram was finance minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Follow live updates of Chidambaram’s hearing in Supreme Court
The CBI has also sought sanction to prosecute her in the case which has been forwarded by the Central Vigilance Commission to the competent authorities this year.
Meanwhile, the special court on Monday extended the CBI custody of Chidambaram till August 30.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General KN Nataraj, representing the CBI, told the court there was sufficient ground for extension of Chidambaram’s custodial interrogation as he was confronted with a co-accused from August 23 to August 26.
The confrontation with the co-accused is not complete, the prosecutors said, and placed before the court a file containing e-mail exchanges between the accused.
The CBI had registered a first information report on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in the manner in which clearance was granted to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also probing the case, filed a money-laundering case a year later.
