CBI seized confidential documents during raid, says Karti Chidambaram

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 27, 2022: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has alleged that certain officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seized sensitive documents during the raid on him in connection with the case related to bribes for illegal visas to Chinese workers.In a letter to the Lok Sabha speaker, he said, “In the course of this so-called raid, certain officers of the CBI seized my highly confidential and sensitive personal notes and papers pertaining to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information and Technology, of which I am a Member.”

 

“I have become the victim of a grossly illegal and patently unconstitutional action. The Central Bureau of Investigation, in the garb of conducting an investigation into an 11-year-old decision of the Government of India in which I have absolutely no involvement, raided my residence in Delhi," he added.

Karti is being questioned for the second consecutive day at the CBI headquarters in the national capital on the allegations of bribery.

He has also accused the CBI of seizing his draft notes and questions which he had intended to ask. He claimed that his handwritten notes pertaining to the depositions made to the committee by witnesses were also seized by the CBI.

“Furthermore, my handwritten notes pertaining to the depositions made to the Committee by witnesses were also seized - for reasons best known to the agency,” he said.Karti has also accused the Centre of running a campaign of slapping fake cases against him and his family members to silence their voices.

“This issue concerns my rights and privileges as a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha). Over the course of the past few years, my family and I have become targets of a relentless campaign by the present government and its investigating agencies who are trying to silence our voices of dissent by foisting one fake case after another. Such targeted intimidation of a Member of the House amounts to a breach of privilege,” Karti has alleged.

Karti Chidambaram has been accused by the CBI of taking a bribe of Rs 50 lakh from a Punjab-based firm through his associate in order to allegedly facilitate the visas of 263 Chinese nationals. His father, P Chidambaram, was the Union Home Minister when the alleged crime took place.

Courtesy: India Today