In connection with an alleged illegal transaction case, the Income Tax (I-T) department raided the houses of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's close aides. A team of fifteen officers on Sunday raided Kakkar's house in Bhopal around 3 am. Kakkar is MP CM Nath's Officer on Special Duty (OSD). His house is located at Indore posh locality Vijay Nagar.
Ratul Puri, the nephew of Kamal Nath is under scrutiny of probe agencies for allegedly receiving negotiated bribery in AgustaWestland deal through his companies. Last week, Ratul Puri was was catechized by the Enforcement Directorate for more than 20 hours on Thursday and Friday regarding the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.
Denying his involvement in the money laundering case, Ratul Puri in a written statement stated, “I have no connection in the AgustaWestland case or defense. I run an independent business. I have no business dealings with any relative of mine.”
According to the sources, the I-T department is conducting detailed searches at about 50 locations in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh against people linked to CM Kamal Nath. Sources in the I-T department reportedly said that the documents seized during the searches are being screened in detail.
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Will it impact Kamal Nath stand in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections?
The raid just few days ahead of the polls is expected to Kamal Nath stand in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Chief Minister Kamal Nath is campaigning for Congress in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh. Although the information gathered during the raids is yet to be known, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya ceasing the opportunity tweeted, “Black money worth crores has been recovered from @officeofKamalNath personal secretary.”
AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam
Also referred to as the 2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal, AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam refers to a multimillion-dollar corruption case in India. The money was paid to middlemen and Indian officials in the 2006 and 2007 to purchase helicopters for high level politicians. According to CBI, this amounted to Rs 2.5 billion. Several Indian politicians and military officials were accused of allegedly accepting bribes from AgustaWestland in order to win the Rs 36 billion contract for the supply of 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters.