VVIP chopper deal: CBI quizzes Bengal governor

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday questioned West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan as a "witness" in connection with its probe into allegations of bribery in the Rs 3600-crore VVIP chopper deal with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland.

80-year-old Narayanan was asked to appear before CBI officers to record his statement in connection with the deal as he was part of the group which had gone into the tendering procedures before purchase of the helicopters, CBI sources said.

Narayanan was the former National Security Advisor before being appointed as governor of the West Bengal.

The sources said the need to record the statement of Narayanan as a witness was felt as he, along with Goa Governor B V Wanchoo, had participated in the meeting in 2005 that allowed key changes in the technical specifications of the chopper.

The CBI is also expected to record the statement of Wanchoo and he has been asked to appear before the agency. He was the chief of elite Special Protection Group guarding the prime minister before he was appointed as governor.

The CBI had sought permission to record their statements as part of its probe into alleged Rs 360-crore bribe paid in the deal that was scrapped by the government in December last year. CBI registered a case against former Indian Air Force Chief S P Tyagi along with 13 others including his cousins and European middlemen in the case.

The allegation against the former air chief was that he had reduced flying ceiling of the helicopter so that AgustaWestland was included in the bids. Tyagi has refuted the allegation against him.

However, this decision was taken in consultation with the officials of SPG and the Prime Minister's Office including Narayanan.

The CBI has alleged reduction of the service ceiling -- maximum height at which a helicopter can perform normally--allowed the UK-based firm to get into the fray as, otherwise, its helicopters were not even qualified for submission of bids.

Image: West Bengal Governor and former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan