I am a victim of political attacks: Quattrocchi
The businessman says his friendships made him the target of all sorts of political attacks, reports Tushar Srivastava.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been under increasing fire with allegations of a cover-up since Ottavio Quattrocchi, subject of an Interpol red corner notice, was detained in Argentina on February 6.
The businessman rubbed salt into the agency’s wounds before leaving for Italy from Argentina on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, my friendships made me the target of all sorts of political attacks that may not be aimed at me but at people I was friends with,” he told news agencies. “The fact, however, is that I suffered immense damage as a result. Being a foreigner also made me a more appealing target for all sorts of contorted political conspiracies,” he added.
Agency reports quoted him as saying he had been “a victim of an obsessive persecution”.
“The CBI has gone out of its way, breaking every rule of honest conduct, to go after me in what has clearly been a political persecution. This is demonstrated by the fact that I have won every single case in a court of law in connection with the Bofors case, and this continued persecution makes you think that in the end, they are only interested in kicking up a media frenzy for ulterior motives,” he was quoted as saying.
Speaking about the notice for his arrest, Quattrocchi said he “strongly believed that Interpol did not exercise due care with the issuance of the red corner notice against me”.
Quattrocchi said he would “certainly press on with all legal remedies at my disposal and may even take the CBI to court for moral and material damage”. “I am happy to be on my way home and looking forward to spending time with family,” he finished.
Meanwhile, the BJP called Quattrocchi’s walk to freedom a “serous lapse” on the party of the government and said it would raise the matter “forcefully” in Parliament.
