US detective says Rajiv govt sabotaged Bofors probe; CBI to look into facts

Hershman also alleged that the bribe money was parked in a Swiss account

The CBI on Wednesday said it would look into the "facts and circumstances" of the Bofors scam mentioned by private detective Michael Hershmam, who alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had sabotaged his investigation.

Hershman, who is the president of the US-based private detective firm Fairfax, claimed in television interviews recently that Rajiv Gandhi was "furious" when he had found a Swiss bank account "Mont Blanc".

Hershman, who was here last week to address a conference of private detectives, also alleged that the bribe money of the Bofors gun scandal had been parked in the Swiss account.

"The agency has learnt of the matter pertaining to the Bofors aired on certain TV channels containing interview of Michael Hershman," CBI information officer and spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said in a statement.

"Facts and circumstances as mentioned in the interview will be looked into as per due process by the CBI," he said.

Hershman was quoted as telling television channels that Rajiv Gandhi got very upset when "our work was uncovered". He then established a Supreme Court commission to look into the circumstances surrounding then finance minister V P Singh's hiring of Fairfax.

In his interviews, Hershman has expressed his willingness to testify and help Indian agencies on the Rs 64 crore Bofors gun pay-off scandal but the effort has to be a credible one.