A team of Central Bureau of Investigation officials from Delhi on Wednesday questioned Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESl Narasimhan in connection with the alleged graft in purchase of AgustaWestland helicopters and recorded his statement.
Sixty-eight-year-old Narasimhan was the chief of Intelligence Bureau when the VVIP helicopter deal was finalised in 2005. CBI officials quizzed Narasimhan for almost one and a half hours at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad and recorded his statement under section 161 (A) of Criminal Procedure Code.
Narasimhan is the third Governor to be questioned. Earlier the CBI had questioned the West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan and Goa Governor BV Wanchoo who as then National Security Adviser and Chief of Special Protection Group had played a crucial role in finalisation of the deal. Both the Governors resigned after questioning by the CBI.
Sources said that Narasim-han’s statement was recorded as a witness and questioning was focused on how the technical specifications for the helicopters were changed to suit the AgustaWestland Company at a meeting on March 1, 2005 where Narasimhan was also present.CBI has already booked a case of graft against the then Indian Air Force chief Tyagi and 13 others. There are allegations that a bribe of Rs 360 crore was paid in this Rs 3,700-crore deal.
Narasimhan was appointed as Governor of Andhra Pradesh by the UPA Government, while the NDA Government appointed him as Governor of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana following bifurcation of the State.