A Delhi court on Monday sent former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram’s chartered accountant (CA) S Bhaskararaman, arrested in the INX Media money laundering case, to 14-day judicial custody.
Special judge N K Malhotra sent the CA to Tihar Jail after he was produced from the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), whose special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana had sought three more days of custodial interrogation. It may be noted that Bhaskararaman was arrested from a five-star hotel in the heart of the national Capital on February 16.
Karti's name had cropped up in the case which relates to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2007 for receipt of funds by INX Media when his father and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister during the previous UPA regime.
The ED had earlier claimed that during the course of investigation, it was revealed that Bhaskararaman, a qualified CA, had been assisting Karti to manage his “ill-gotten wealth” in India and abroad. The agency had said the investigation required the presence of Bhaskararaman for collecting vital evidence and other information which was within his special knowledge and exclusive domain.