 |
| AgustaWestland EH101/AW-101 Merlin |
By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — A former Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi, was arrested on Friday by the Central Bureau of Investigation for alleged corruption in the purchase of 12 AW 101 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Italy's Leonardo-Finmeccanica.
Along with Tyagi, Delhi based lawyer Gautam Khaitan and his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi also were arrested, "on the allegations accepting illegal gratification for exercising influence through corrupt and/or illegal means," according to the government.
In January 2014, MoD officials canceled the €546 million helicopter contract inked in 2010 with the Anglo-Italian company on charges of corruption, referring the case to the CBI.
India's Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, during a debate in Parliament in April this year, said the request for proposals for the deal had been diverted to favor AgustaWestland.
Read the full story at DefenseNews