Copter scam: CBI grills Air Force ex-chief Tyagi, two cousins

The Central Bureau of Investigation today questioned retired Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, the former head of the Indian Air Force, as well as a couple of his cousins for several hours in relation to the AgustaWestland helicopter deal signed between India and Italy's Finmecannica, in which Rs360 crore is alleged to have changed hands under the table.

The former air force chief reached the CBI headquarters in Delhi around 3 pm, and was quizzed for over two hours.

This was after his cousins Julie and Docsa Tyagi faced a volley of questions on their alleged association with European middlemen Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschkhe.

Gerosa and Haschkhe have been accused by Italian investigators of payment of illegal gratification to swing the Rs3,600 crore deal for 12 copters to be operated by the Indian Air Force and used exclusively for the conveyance of VIPs.

Three of the machines have already been delivered.

The CBI has already questioned executives of Indian the operations of Aeromatrix and IDS Infotech, companies through which the alleged bribes were routed from Mauritius and Tunisia in the guise of payments for engineering contracts.

An Italian prosecutor has claimed that Gerosa and Haschkhe had close contacts with S P Tyagi's family, particularly his three cousins, Julie, Docsa and Sandeep Tyagi.

The prosecution claims It had claimed that Haschkhe and Gerosa, through the Tyagi brothers, managed to change the tender details, modifying the 'operational ceiling' from 18,000 feet to 15,000 feet, thereby making AgustaWestland eligible to take part in the tender process.