Jet Air chief denies underworld links

Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal on Thursday vehemently denied any link with the underworld saying all agencies have cleared his airline in this connection and that is why the carrier has been allowed to fly to the US.

"Unfortunately this is completely false and it is all politically motivated and everyone knows. All agencies have cleared us and that is why we are flying to the United States," Goyal told CNN-IBN in New York.

"We have already been cleared by the State Department and by the Indian government and that is why we are going to start our (US) flight from August 5," he said.

A division bench of the Bombay high court had on June 21 pulled up the Maharashtra police for not taking action on a complaint of alleged underworld connection of Goyal.

Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice S C Dharmadhikari also asked the concerned police officer to be present in court on July 19, when the case will come up for hearing.

The PIL, filed by social activist M Furquan, has alleged that Goyal had links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel and this nexus could hamper national security.

The court will look into the demand of a CBI inquiry into the matter, petitioner's lawyer K T Thomas had said.

Jet Airways, a leading private airline, is alleged to have been funded by fugitives, Thomas said.

This was the third time that the petitioner filed such a PIL against Goyal.