Karti Chidambaram's associate arrested in visas scam
The Hindu
CBI action comes a day after raids on P Chidambaram and his son’s premises
A day after conducting searches on the premises of Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram and others accused in the alleged visas scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested S. Bhaskar Raman, who was named first accused in the case.
Mr. Bhaskar Raman, a close associate of Mr. Karti Chidambaram, was arrested in Chennai after questioning by investigators of the CBI’s Economic Offences Wing, New Delhi.
The CBI has accused him of taking ₹50 lakh bribe to facilitate the re-use of Project Visas for Chinese workers who were deployed in the construction of a 1980 MW thermal power plant at Mansa in Punjab in 2011.
Besides other evidences, the investigative agency relied on several email communications between the beneficiary company - M/s Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) - officials and Mr Bhaskar Raman.
The Opposition Congress demanded that the government open the Gandhi Vatika Museum, depicting Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and freedom struggle, built at a cost of ₹85 crore in Jaipur’s Central Park last year, during the Congress-led regime in Rajasthan. The museum has not been opened to the public, reportedly because of the administration’s engagements with the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.