About INX Media Case: Former Union home and finance minister P Chidambaram was arrested in the INX Media case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He has been accused of wrongdoing, money laundering as well as misusing the post of finance minister.
“Mr. P Chidambaram has been arrested in connection with INX media case,” a senior official of the agency said.
Chidambaram was formally arrested at the CBI headquarters after being taken into custody from his Jor Bagh home. He was presented before a special CBI court (Rouse Avenue) on Thursday, where the agency sought for his remand.
About INX Media Case
The case goes back to May 15, 2017, when the CBI registered an FIR alleging loopholes in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to INX Media for getting funds from abroad to the tune of Rs 305 crore in the year 2007. This is the case of that time when Chidambaram, father of Karti Chidambaram, was finance minister. ED further also filed a money laundering case in the matter in the year 2018. INX Media was then owned by Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, who is at present in jail in connection with the Sheena Bora murder case.
After this in February 2018, Karti Chidambaram was arrested for apparently accepting money for clearance to go through. He was after that granted bail. In the meantime, his father was moved to the Delhi High Court in order to seek anticipatory bail in the CBI and ED cases.
Later on Jan 25, 2019, the court had kept back its judgment on the pleas. The high court then dismissed the petitions on August 20, flagging the way for investigating agencies to arrest him. From then, the CBI along with ED teams have visited the house of Congress leader thrice but Chidamabaram always remains ‘missing’.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram, on the other hand, said, “This is not merely targeting of my father but the targeting of Congress party. I will go to Jantar Mantar to protest.”
He also stated on Thursday that his father’s arrest by CBI on Wednesday night in connection with the INX Media corruption case and it is being done just to divert the attention from the issue of Article 370. “It (the arrest) is being done just to divert attention from the issue of Article 370,” Karti told reporters.
Karti said in his statement, “This whole thing is politically trumped-up. There are no merits whatsoever. These are apparently about alleged events which took place in 2008 for which an FIR was filed in 2017. I have been raided four times. I have been summoned 20 times. I have appeared for at least 10-12 hours in each of the summonses. I was also the guest of the CBI for 11 days. Everybody who is even remotely associated with me has been summoned and extensively questioned, and still, we don’t have a charge-sheet. There is no case. I have absolutely no link with INX Media”.
After the dramatic arrest late night on Wednesday from his house in south Delhi by officials who even climbed a boundary wall in order to attempt to get to him, Former finance minister P Chidambaram spend the whole night at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters where he was questioned for about 3 hours.
Today in the Hearing P Chidambaram says in court, “Please look at the questions and answers, there are no questions which I have not answered, please read the transcript. They asked if I have a bank account abroad, I said no, they asked if my son has an account abroad I said yes”.
The Congress also conducted a press conference on senior leader P Chidambaram’s arrest. “The vindictive and malicious manner in which former Home and Finance minister has been persecuted and prosecuted shows malice by the Modi government. This happens while the economy is suffering and the rupee has been the worst-performing currency,” Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
Hours before Mr. Chidambaram was arrested, he addressed at the Congress headquarters to present an explanation and an appeal of sorts. He said, “I believe the foundation of democracy is liberty. If asked to choose between life and liberty, I would choose liberty,”
“All we wanted is a hearing. No one is running away,” he added.
Mr. Chidambaram explained his absence from the public eye and said, “I was working alongside my lawyers whole of last night… and the whole day,”
“Respect for the law can mean only one thing — await (the Supreme Court’s) decision on Friday… Until Friday, let’s hope the lamp of liberty will shine bright,” he said.
