S P Tyagi's arrest unfortunate, dents our reputation: IAF Chief Arup Raha

CBI arrested Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev, and lawyer Gautam Khaitan in the sensational Rs 450 crore Agusta Westland bribery case

Air Chief Arup Raha on Saturday described the arrest of former IAF chief S P Tyagi as "unfortunate", and said that it has "dented" the force's reputation.

"Very unfortunate that such an episode has taken place. It does dent our reputation as a professional force. But we believe in the rule of law," Raha told reporters at a function at the city airport.

"I am sure every Indian citizen believes in rule of law and the due process is on," he said , adding "whatever is the final verdict we will go by that".

He refused to speak further on the issue, saying the matter is sub-judice.

In a sudden and first-of-its-kind action, CBI on Friday arrested Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev, and lawyer Gautam Khaitan in the sensational Rs 450 crore Agusta Westland bribery case in procurement of 12 VVIP helicopters.

71-year old Tyagi, who retired in 2007, was called for questioning at CBI Headquarters along with his cousin and Khaitan, who were taken into custody after nearly four hours of grilling, CBI sources said.

These are the first arrests in the case by CBI, three years after it registered a FIR in 2013 to probe the allegations in the aftermath of the details of the scam emerged in Italy where the prosecutors levelled allegations of corruption in the deal against the chief of Finmeccanica, the parent company of Agusta Westland.