AgustaWestland case: 'Why has Christian Michel been brought back, why not Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya', asks Congress

The Patiala House court on Wednesday sent Christian Michel, an accused in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland scam, to five-day CBI custody. Michel denied his role in the chopper scam during his appearance in the Patiala House court. His lawyers said he should be sent to judicial custody, not the CBI custody.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which extradited him from UAE on Tuesday night, sought his custody to gain access to crucial documents related to the case that he might possess. Thereafter, the court sent him to CBI custody but granted access to lawyers twice a day. A copy of the chargesheet against Michel will be given to his lawyers.

Meanwhile, politics over Christian Michel's extradition has gained momentum, with the BJP claiming it as an unequivocal affirmation of the PM Narendra Modi-led government's "seriousness in fighting corruption".

PM Modi, during an election rally in Rajasthan, said the VVIP chopper scam happened during the UPA government, and that the BJP investigated the scam when it came to power. Claiming the government had been successful in extraditing Michel from UAE, Modi said it remains to be seen what secrets will come out in the open after he starts speaking.

The Congress party has raised objections to the way the government has specifically focussed on the AgustaWestland case to distract the attention from major issues like the Rafale deal and Bulandshahr riots. Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said the party was "preparing to fight". "We will put forth (our) best minds. The Congress has nothing to fear. Why has Michel been brought, not others?  Where is Nirav Modi and (Vijay) Mallya," he asked, during an interaction with India Today TV.

Also read: Who is Christian Michel and what is the AgustaWestland chopper scam?

He asked the intent behind extraditing Michel, who's one of the three accused being probed in the case. "Michel (is) not indicted by any court in the world. What is a special interest to get him here and not others?" he asked. Former CBI director AP Singh, talking to the news channel, said it's a big achievement for the government and the CBI, and that Michel's extradition had been possible due to good relations between India and UAE.

Michel was brought in a private jet belonging to the UAE government from Dubai. The flight landed at the Delhi airport around 11:00 pm on Tuesday. Michel, who's a British national, has been accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of receiving about Euro 30 million (approximately Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland to influence the deal in its favour. His involvement in the 12 VVIP helicopter deal surfaced in 2012 when he was accused of swinging the deal in favour of AgustaWestland and making illegal payment of kickback to the Indian authorities.

India had scrapped 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland in January 2014 over the breach of contractual obligations and the charges of paying Rs 423 crore kickbacks. Former Air Force chief SP Tyagi was also arrested over the allegations of reducing the flying ceiling of the helicopter to put AgustaWestland in the race.