P. Chidambaram Answered 400 questions in CBI Custody

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram, who was arrested by the CBI on August 21 and was in the agency’s custody for several days, was confronted by four to five persons and answered more than 400 questions related to the INX Media case and the FIPB approvals given during his term as the Union Finance Minister, agency sources said.

The Supreme Court on Thursday sent P.Chidambaram to 14 days’ judicial custody in the INX Media case. He is presently lodged in jail number-7 of Tihar Jail, which is meant for economic offenders.

A top CBI source connected to the INX Media case probe told IANS, “P.Chidambaram was confronted with four to five witnesses and accused in the case.” However, he refused to share the names as it can impact the probe into the case.

The source also said that Chidambaram answered over 400 questions during his custody since August 21.

The source pointed out that most of the questions put in front of Chidambaram were related to the links of his son Karti Chidambaram with the Chess Management Pvt Ltd and the Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd (ASCPL) and their dealings with Indrani Mukerjea and Peter Mukerjea, the co-founders of INX Media.

The source said that on many occasions, Chidambaram tried to kill time by taking hours to respond to the questions related to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approvals given to the INX Media group during his tenure as the Finance Minister for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore.

Last year, Indrani Mukherjea in her statement to the CBI had alleged that Karti Chidambaram received Rs 3.5 crore in kickbacks from INX Media for securing FIPB clearance in 2007. She had also said that Karti Chidambaram had met her at a hotel in New Delhi and allegedly demanded $1 million (Rs 6.5 crore) for the FIPB clearances. (IANS)

Also Read: Supreme Court to Hear Jammu and Kashmir-linked Petitions

Also Watch:68 packets of suspected 'Lali Gur' worth Rs 1 Lakh seized in Naharkatia