Former Air chief Tyagi sent to CBI custody; IAF's reputation hit, says Raha

New Delhi, December 10

A local court on Saturday sent former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief SP Tyagi and others to custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) till December 14 in the Rs 3,767-crore AgustaWestland helicopter deal case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sujit Saurabh allowed the CBI to quiz Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi alias Julie Tyagi and a Delhi-based lawyer, Gautam Khaitan, till December 14.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Meanwhile, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Saturday said former air force chief SP Tyagi's involvement in the AgustaWestland scam is unfortunate and would adversely affect the reputation of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

“It is a very unfortunate episode and the incident adversely acts on the reputation of a very professional force that is the Indian Air Force. I am sure that law of the land and the judicial system will dwell into it and finally deal with the subject,” he said.

Air Chief Marshal Raha assured that the Indian Air Force will correct every error quickly and will serve the nation to best of its ability.

“I can rest assure you the Indian Air Force and the armed forces  will continue to serve the nation to best of its abilities and if anything is wrong, we will correct it quickly,” he added.

Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi (retd) was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday, along with his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan, for their alleged involvement in the Rs 3,700-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam.

They have been accused of routing kickbacks.

The CBI has determined that about Rs 450 crore, or 12 per cent of the Rs 3,767-crore deal for procurement of 12 helicopters was paid as bribe. The government rescinded the contract in January 2014 in view of the bribery allegations. — Agencies