AgustaWestland: Rajiv Saxena gets interim bail till Feb 22

New Delhi :  A Delhi court on Thursday granted interim bail to Dubai-based businessman Rajiv Saxena till February 22 in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar asked the businessman to furnish two sureties bond of Rs 5 lakh each and also sought a detailed medical report of Saxena from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told the court it was not opposing Saxena’s bail plea on medical grounds as he was cooperating in the VVIP chopper deal probe.

Saxena told the court he was suffering from radiating back pain, numbness and heaviness in legs, neck pain and other ailments. Despite this, he has been cooperating, he said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) security agencies had picked Saxena from his Dubai residence on January 30 and extradited him to India later that night, along with corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar.

According to the ED, in connivance with lawyer Gautam Khaitan, Saxena provided a corporate structure across the globe to launder money for payment to various political leaders, bureaucrats and Indian Air Force officials to influence the contract for supplying 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland.

A non-bailable warrant was issued against Saxena after he did not join the investigation despite repeated summons.

Saxena’s name was mentioned in a charge sheet filed against his wife, Shivani, who has been out on bail after being arrested by the ED earlier.

 Published on: Feb 14, 2019 at 14:24 IST

IANS