New Delhi:
Indrani Mukerjea, who had accused former union minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media corruption case, was named in the CBI chargesheet but she won’t be tired. According to the CBI chargesheet filed before a special court, Indrani Mukerjea was an accused in the case but she turned "turned approver and pardoned".
In the chargesheet, the CBI has alleged that P Chidambaram "misused his official position" in granting approval to a FDI proposal of INX Media and INX News Pvt Ltd in lieu of "illegal gratification" in India and through offshore payments. Besides Chidambaram, his son Karti and 12 others, including bureaucrats, were accused of causing loss to the exchequer by committing offences under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
Karti's Chartered Accountant S Bhaskararaman and Indrani's former husband Peter Mukerjea, who was the director of INX Media Limited when the alleged corruption took place, were also named in the final report. The name of Indrani Mukerjea, who was a former promoter of INX Media and an accused-turned approver, did appear in the final report but with CBI's "pardon".
The charge sheet was filed just a couple of days before the mandatory 60-day period from the day of arrest of Chidambaram in the corruption case to do so expires on October 20, i.e., Sunday, failing which he would have been entitled for grant of 'default bail' under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
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The CBI registered an FIR on May 15, 2017 alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram's tenure as the finance minister.
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Meanwhile, P Chidambaram's son and Congress MP Karti termed as "witch-hunt" action by investigation agencies against his family and expressed confidence of being vindicated. "We are confident of being vindicated through the judicial process in the case that was foisted to settle political scores," the junior Chidambaram said while reacting to the CBI's chargesheet.
(With PTI inputs)
