AgustaWestland chopper case: CBI examines AP Governor Narasimhan

Hyderabad: The CBI on Wednesday examined Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan as witness in Agusta Westland helicopter bribery scam.

A team of CBI officials recorded the statement of Narasimhan at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad and questions related to change in service ceiling of the helicopters were put to him, the agency sources said.

Mr Narasimhan was Intelligence Bureau director and was part of the meeting in March 2005 in which the decision to reduce the maximum height at which a helicopter can perform optimally was taken.

This decision had made Agusta Westland eligible for the deal. CBI sources said that Mr Narasimhan is likely to be made a witness in the case.

The case is pertaining to the allegations of graft in the purchase of 12 helicopters from Agusta Westland for the use of VVIPs in the country. It was alleged that Rs 360 crore was paid as bribe in the Rs 3,726-crore deal to the accused — former Indian Air Force chief S. P. Tyagi along with 13 others and a European middlemen.

The deal that was struck in 2010 was cancelled in 2013. Mr Narasimhan is the third Governor to be questioned by the CBI in the case.

The two others, then National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and then SPG head B.V. Wanchoo, who were part of the meeting along with Mr Narasimhan, have already been questioned.

Incidentally, Mr Narayanan and Mr Wanchoo, Governors of West Bengal and Goa respectively, have quit their posts since the questioning.

A top CBI source said, “Delhi CBI team has already recorded the statements of Wanchoo and Narayanan who took part in the meeting in 2005 that allowed key changes in the technical specifications of the chopper. The duo revealed that Telangana Governor Mr E.S.L. Narasimhan was also in the meeting. So we have decided to record his statement as it will help in the investigation to know why the service ceiling was reduced.”

Sources said Mr Narasimhan was among the top 10 persons who attended the meeting.

The government had initially stated that the helicopters should be able to fly at an altitude of 6,000 metres to be eligible to be purchased. However the AgustaWestland helicopter was certified to fly only to 4,572 metres and thus was not eligible.

Though Mr Tyagi has refuted it, the CBI has alleged that the parameters for eligibility were changed to benefit Agusta.

In 2013, the Italian police had arrested Mr Giuseppe Orsi, who served as the helicopter manufacturer’s CEO until December 2011 and is currently head of its parent company, Finmeccanica, and the current AgustaWestland CEO, Bruno Spagnolini, on bribery charges.