Media Eye News Bureau: The CBI recently arrested Karti Chidambaram for allegedly helping INX Media in scuttling action by the finance ministry during the tenure of his father P Chidambaram as Union finance minister.
He was produced before magistrate Sumeet Anand, who remanded Karti to a day’s CBI custody for interrogation. Karti stated, “It is absolutely a political vendetta. I will be vindicated.”
The CBI arrested him on allegations that INX Media, then owned by Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, received Rs. 305 crore from overseas through Foreign Direct Investments without an approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
The CBI’s FIR states that when the income-tax department launched a probe into the alleged violation, the Mukerjeas sought help from Karti to get the punitive action against them by the finance ministry scuttled and alleged that Karti’s companies got Rs. 3.5 crore from INX for services rendered.
The CBI counsel said in court that Karti did not cooperate with the agency in the probe and that he was travelling abroad too frequently as well and argued that Karti appeared before the agency for questioning only after a Supreme Court order. However Karti’s lawyer has rebutted the claims and told the court that his client cooperated with the investigation and had reported to the CBI whenever summoned.
