The I-T department has swopped down on around 50 locations, related to Kamal Nath’s nephew Ratul Puri and close aides Praveen Kakkar and Rajendra Kumar Miglani, in the wee hours, today.
According to a source, the raids started at around 3:00 AM when around 15 officers of the I-T department reached the residence of Praveen Kakkar, who is a close aide of Kamal Nath and also his Officer on Special Duty (OSD), in Vijay Nagar of Indore. A showroom in the same colony and some other properties are also being searched.
Delhi: I-T raid underway at residence of RK Miglani, close aide of Madhya Pradesh CM, in Green Park. pic.twitter.com/XEKcEpY8a7
— ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2019
Simultaneously few locations related to Rajendra Kumar Miglani are also been searched by the I-T department. Searches also underway in Bhopal, Indore, Goa and 35 locations in Delhi. More than 300 I-T officials are conducting the searches.
I-T Sources: I-T dept is conducting searches at 50 locations. Searches underway at locations of MP Chief Minister's OSD, Ratul Puri, Amira Group&Moser Bayer. Searches also underway in Bhopal* ,Indore,Goa& 35 locations in Delhi. More than 300 I-T officials conducting the searches. https://t.co/x5wkkEE01p
— ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2019
According to sources, a cash stuffed suitcase has also been recovered in the raids, from one Prateek Joshi from Bhopal.
Pictures provided by Income-Tax Sources of cash recovered during raid at residential premises of Prateek Joshi in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. I-T searches are underway at 50 locations including Indore, Bhopal, Goa and Delhi. pic.twitter.com/TAMe4J1Nii
— ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2019
Ratul Puri, nephew of Kamal Nath, was under the Scanner of Enforcement Directorate relating to the 3600 Crore Agusta Westland Scam. Ratul was summoned by ED on Thursday for questioning and was summoned again on Friday for the same. Ratul Puri had refuted all the allegations and had said, “I am cooperating with the investigation and will continue to cooperate. I have no connection with defense (deals) and no business dealings with my relatives, I run an independent business. I will cooperate fully with ED and any other government authority that seeks any information from me or asks me for any clarifications. I have no connection with AgustaWestland or defense.”
The searches, currently underway, have also been conducted at properties of the Amira Group and Moser Baer which are linked with Ratul Puri.
These raids come after developments in investigations, when alleged AgustaWestland middle man, Christen Michel was extradited to India on 4 December from United Arab Emirates (UAE). Recently it was also unearthed that, Christian Michel’s involvement was more than just being involved in the AgustaWestland scam.
This comes days after media reports cited Enforcement Directorate named some Congress leaders in the chargesheet against AgustaWestland middleman Christian Michel. Congress seems to be in a spot ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Last month Rajiv Saxena, notorious for embezzling millions as a middleman in the Augusta Westland scam, turned approver after he received a pardon from the special judge of a Delhi court.
Augusta Westland scam dates back to 2010 when a tender was assigned to Augusta Westland and 12 AW101 helicopters were to be acquired by the government of India from Augusta Westland at a total cost of Rs. 3,546 crores. Out of these 22 choppers, 8 were to be assigned to the Prime Minister, President of India and other ministers.
In 2013, the scam came into public knowledge and shocked everyone. The CEO of Augusta Westland and the CEO of its parent company, Finmeccanica, were arrested in Italy on the grounds of bribing Indian middlemen. This made it clear that the transaction was not a transparent one. The ED seems to be moving at a brisk pace with cracking the money trail and connecting the dots along with links in the case. It seems that Congress is getting no respite from its questionable deal.