Two top Delhi police officers held for Christmas Eve tragedy

In a sensational breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested two assistant commissioners of police in Delhi in connection with the Ionian Sea boat tragedy which resulted in the deaths of more than 200 young men from Punjab on Christmas Eve.

CBI sources identified the ACPs as Bahadur Singh and Jag Parvesh Chander Kaushal.

Unaccounted money totalling Rs 2.7 million was seized from Kaushal's home, the sources said.

Both the ACPs were posted at the Delhi airport and allegedly connived with the travel agents who arranged the travel for the victims and assured them of lucrative jobs in Europe.

Their arrests follow the arrest of the main accused, Satpal Wahi, in Delhi on February 14. With this, the number of those arrested in connection with the case has gone up to eight.

The case relates to the drowning of more than 200 young men in the icy waters of the Ionian Sea off the Maltese coast on Christmas Eve.

Monday's arrests marked the first time that government officials have been arrested in connection with the case. Those arrested earlier were mostly travel agents and their sub agents.

Wahi, who ran a travel agency named S P International in the capital's Connaught Place, was instrumental in arranging the immigration of the victims who paid nearly Rs 300,000 each for the journey and the prospects of employment.

Wahi's son, Mandhir Kumar, lived in Athens, Greece, and Wahi, CBI sources allege, was ''acting on behalf of his son.''

Twentytwo survivors of the tragedy returned to India last month.

The CBI is still searching for several travel agents who have gone missing after news of the tragedy broke. Some of the agents, based in Greece, were allegedly attending a party in Punjab on the day of the accident, but managed to leave India before the newspapers reported the tragedy a fortnight later.

UNI