AgustaWestland case: Two more accused granted bail

Former Indian Air Force chief S P Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were arrested on December 9 by CBI in connection with AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal case.

New Delhi, Jan 4: After granting bail to former Indian Air Force chief S.P. Tyagi, a court here on Wednesday granted bail to two more accused arrested in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal case.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Arvind Kumar allowed the bail pleas of Sanjeev Tyagi and a Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan.

The court asked them to furnish a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and a surety of like amount each. Sanjeev Tyagi is the cousin of S.P. Tyagi, who was arrested on December 9 on the charge of receiving kickbacks in the multi-million dollar AgustaWestland helicopter deal.

On December 26, the court granted bail to the former Indian Air Force chief. The CBI has alleged that Tyagi and the other accused received bribes from AgustaWestland and helped the manufacturer win the $530-million contract to purchase the helicopters for the Communication Squadron of the Indian Air Force for ferrying the President, the Prime Minister and other VVIPs.

The probe agency further added that the company was favoured by the accused against illegal gratification accepted through different companies in the name of consultancy services.

An FIR was registered against them on March 12, 2013 under various charges dealing with criminal conspiracy, cheating and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

IANS