High drama unfolded on Saturday as former Indian Air Force chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi walked into jail after a Delhi court remanded him and two other accused to judicial custody till December 30 in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper scam.
The Patiala House Court in the capital was thronged by the media and others as the developments were watched closely. Tyagi's defence faded out in front of the CBI which did not seek further remand claiming it had got sufficient evidence against the accused. The two other accused in the case are Tyagi's cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan.
Additional sessions judge Arvind Kumar remanded all the three to judicial custody after the probe agency did not seek further police custody. The CBI has interrogated the former air chief for a week now since his arrest on December 10. The accused persons have, however, moved a bail application which is likely to be heard on December 21.
Tyagi's wife, who was present in the courtroom, reportedly broke down when the court pronounced the judgment.
The CBI had produced the accused before the court on Saturday after the three day police remand sought by it came to an end. The agency has accused Tyagi of entering into a conspiracy with the other accused to favour Britain-based AugustaWestland to get the chopper contract by tweaking the eligibility criteria. The CBI alleged that Tyagi received kickbacks through his relatives and middlemen.
Tyagi, however, maintained that the decision to change the specifications was not taken by him alone. The former air chief, who headed the IAF between 2005-2007, said that the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) was in the loop and that the decision was taken during a meeting in 2005. In fact, it was the PMO which had roped in the air chief in 2003 to get involved in the procurement of the VVIP choppers.
The deal first came under the scanner after Italian authorities claimed that the company paid bribes to swing the deal in its favour. The CBI said that it had received incriminating documents from Italy and Mauritius against Tyagi besides other evidence to establish that he had accepted illegal gratification for exercising influence through corrupt and illegal means. This is for the first time a former military chief has been arrested and sent to jail by the central probe agency, etching a black chapter in the Indian history.
