CBI suppressed Quattrocchi's arrest to help UPA, accuses BJP

New Delhi, Feb 24 (UNI) The BJP today accused the CBI of keeping the information about the arrest of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, the main accused in the Bofors kickbacks case, on February 6, under wraps ''to save the Congress from getting embarassed'' during the elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur.

''Even now the information about Quattrocchi's arrest had come from the Interpol, and not CBI, which is an official wing of the International police,'' BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley told newspersons here.

He alleged that the CBI's silence on Quattrocchi was intended to deny Argentina the crucial evidence needed to detain him in that country.

He said India not having an extradition treaty with Argentina should not prevent it from bringing the Bofors' accused back. He can be brought to India like Don Abu Salem, extradited from Portugal, despite the absence of an extradition treaty.

''While the BJP could understand the anxiety of the political executive to hide facts about Quattrocchi's arrest, but it failed to comprehend the actions of CBI which allowed defreezing of the proceeds of Bofors kickbacks, lying frozen in his London bank account. The credibility of the UPA and autonomy of the CBI had eroded,'' he said.

Tracing Quattrocchi's background, Mr Jaitley said he had entered India the same time as UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and has had a role in taking important decisions and in fact was 'her gift to India'. His company AE Services was the company which got the kickback money and a probe was necessary to ascertain if he was the lone recipient or he was representing 'other people'.

He alleged that the UPA had adopted a 'go slow' strategy to delay the case against Quattrocchi.

The BJP today adopted a resolution at its Office Bearers meeting in which it demanded the CBI and the External Affairs Ministry to honestly try to get Quattrocchi extradited from where he is held.

UNI