CBI in a quandary over Hindujas' offer

By Mukund Padmanabhan

NEW DELHI, MAY 6. The continued reluctance of the Hinduja brothers to submit themselves to interrogation in India in connection with the Bofors case, may force the CBI to resort to its only other option: send a team to London to examine them.

Three letters written by the CBI to the three NRI industrialist brothers have elicited similar responses. They have maintained that ``business occupations'' make it impossible for them to come to India. At the same time, they have offered to meet CBI officials in London.

Given the lack of assurance of what such cooperation means, the CBI has chosen to proceed cautiously and is studying the legal implications of accepting the offer.

It has been a few months since the second batch of Swiss bank documents on the Bofors deal were delivered to India. The documents are believed to reveal payments made by the Swedish arms manufacturer totalling over $10 million to three coded bank accounts belonging to the Hinduja brothers.

The CBI is aware that any inordinate delay in taking steps towards the eventual preparation of an additional chargesheet in the case is bound to expose the agency to charges that it is dragging its feet in the matter. At the same time, sending a team to London - which implies that the Hindujas would determine the nature of the interaction - could well be non-productive and, as a result, an embarrassment.

Discovering the further movement of the Bofors payoffs from the coded Hinduja accounts to other accounts could play a vital role in throwing light on the full extent of the conspiracy.

Therefore, it is essential for the CBI to determine whether the Hinduja brothers were acting on their own or on behalf of other interests in India which swung the howitzer purchase in favour of the Swedish manufacturer.

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Section  : National
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