Chopper deal: CBI questions former IAF Chief S P Tyagi

Former IAF Chief S P Tyagi and his cousins were today questioned by the CBI during which he refuted allegations of receiving kickbacks in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.
Tyagi, who is the first ever Air Chief Marshal in the history of the force to face a CBI probe, reached the agency headquarters at around 3 PM and was quizzed for nearly four hours.
His cousins including Julie and Docsa Tyagi reached the CBI office at around 11.30 AM and faced a number of questions about their alleged association with European middlemen--Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschkhe.
They were also brought face to face with the former Air Chief, agency sources said.

The former Air Chief denied all the allegations against him and contended that laid down procedures were followed for the deal for 12 VVIP helicopters, the sources said.
During questioning, he also claimed that no illegal gratification was received by him in the deal and that he never tried to influence it, they said.

The sources said role of Tyagi in modifying specifications for helicopter is still an issue of probe and nothing conclusive has been established so far.
Meanwhile, sources said the Preliminary Enquiry(PE) of the agency registered by it on Februrary 24 is about to be completed and it is likely to convert it into a regular case by filing an FIR in this connection.

The sources said if the agency finds enough material to book S P Tyagi in its FIR, it would be done under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act as he is the only retired government official in the list of 11 suspects and four companies.