Business Standard Karti Chidambaram in custody, to appear in court today: Top 10 developments
A regular CBI court on Thursday will hear the agency, which sought a 15-day remand of Karti Chidambaram in the INX Media case
Karti Chidambaram, businessman and former finance minister P Chidambaram's son, will be produced before the Patiala House Court on Thursday in connection with the socalled INX Media money-laundering case. Karti had been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the Chennai airport on Wednesday morning and taken into custody by a team of CBI officers on his return from the United Kingdom. He was produced before a Delhi court, which sent him to CBI custody for one day. Karti Chidambaram's remand will last until 12.30 pm on Thursday when a regular CBI court will hear the probe agency. The central probe agency had sought a 15-day remand for his custodial interrogation. He will be produced before a CBI court on Thursday, All India Radio News has reported. The CBI justified Karti's arrest by taking the ground of his non-cooperation and frequent foreign visits. CBI Prosecutor V K Sharma told the court that Karti had been repeatedly travelling abroad, which "confirmed apprehensions" that he would flee the country. Further, the agency argued that one of the grounds for arresting Karti was the recorded statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former director of INX Media (P) Ltd. Opposition Congress described Karti's arrest as vendetta and a diversionary tactic by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Karti, for his part, said the "whole exercise" was meant to "politically target" his father. Opposing the CBI's arguments in court, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Karti Chidambaram, said it was a "bizarre" case. Singhvi argued that there were no grounds for the arrest. Here are the top 10 developments around Karti Chidambaram's arrest and the INX Media money-laundering case: 1) Karti to be produced before Delhi Court: Karti Chidambaram will be produced before the Patiala House Court on Thursday in connection with the INX Media moneylaundering case, according to news agency ANI. All India Radio News, however, reported that he would be produced before a CBI court on Thursday. The Patiala House Court will also hear the bail plea of S Bhaskararaman, Karti's chartered accountant (CA), in connection with the same case. The CA had filed a bail plea before a Delhi Court on Wednesday. 2) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested S Bhaskararaman from a hotel in Delhi on February 16. Subsequently, a Delhi court had sent Bhaskararaman to 14 days of judicial custody on February 26. 3) 2) Mukerjeas allege P Chidambaram asked them to help in Karti's business: Officials said that Karti was arrested by the CBI on the basis of confessional statements of INX Media Limited directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, alleging that they paid $700,000 to him on the instructions of his father P Chidamabaram. This alleged payment served as a quid pro quo for an FIPB clearance. 4) According to officials, the Mukerjeas' statements were recorded by the ED, which is probing the money-laundering angle in the case. The CBI had only recorded Indrani's statement before a magistrate as per section 164 of the CrPC. 5) Peter and Indrani had alleged that they met the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram at his North Block office, seeking clearance for foreign investments in their media company after the Income Tax department detected irregularities in these instances, in 2007. 6) Quoting from the Mukerjeas' statements, officials said that the elder Chidambaram had asked them to "help the business of his son and make foreign remittances for the purpose". 7) ALSO READ: Paid Karti $700,000 through foreign subsidiaries, claim Indrani and Peter 8) The couple also admitted that they subsequently met Karti at a five-star hotel in Delhi, where he allegedly made a demand of $1 million, the officials said. They added that this was reiterated by Indrani before the magistrate as well..........read more