Union Min Prakash Javadekar on ED says Christian Michel spoke about 'son of Italian lady': Revelations by ED show t… https://t.co/ASGidrrLrv — ANI (@ANI) 1546083895000

(With inputs from agencies)

NEW DELHI: Christian Michel , the accused in AgustaWestland chopper scam case, took the name of "Mrs Gandhi" and also spoke about "the son of the Italian lady" who is going to be "the next Prime Minister of the country," the Enforcement Directorate told Delhi's Patiala House Court on Saturday.The agency told the court that Michel had made a reference to 'Mrs Gandhi' during interrogation on December 27. The ED, however, did not make any clear reference to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi .In its plea seeking extension of Michel's custody, the ED said it needs to decode references like "big man", also known as "R", in Michel's communication with others."We need to confront Michel with other people to decipher who “the big man” or “R” is," the ED told the court.The probe agency also alleged that Michel was misusing the liberty of legal assistance during his interrogation by passing chits to his lawyers asking how to tackle questions on Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.The ED told the court that it is clear that there is a conspiracy to shield or to tamper with the evidence that could be brought forth from the questioning of the accused. "The benefit given by the court to the accused of legal access is being misused. It should be stopped henceforth," the agency said.In response to ED's allegations, Michel’s lawyer Aljo K Joseph told the court that his client had a query regarding something and how the legal response needs to be given."He tried to give us something, we didn’t see what it was. It was immediately pointed out that he was slipping us a paper and it was taken away," Joseph said.The court directed that the three defence counsels will be able to meet Michel one at a time at a distance from the accused and legal assistance will be only for 15 minutes at 10 am and at 5 pm during a day.Michel, the ED said, also revealed how Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) was dropped from the chopper deal, which was subsequently offered to Tatas. "Michel has identified how HAL was removed from the deal which was offered to Tata instead," the ED said.The ED said Michel's custody was needed as an investigation was still to be conducted with regard to the places where the meetings between him and other people used to take place, proceeds of the crime and money trail.The agency also said the questionnaire, which has already been prepared for investigation by the Investigating Officer, has not yet been completely answered by Michel.How he was able to access classified information protected under the Official Secrets Act also needed to be probed, it said."Michel's custody was required for "unearthing the deep-rooted conspiracy and identification of all his accomplices including the IAF officials, MoD (Ministry of Defence) officials, bureaucrats and politicians who gained undue advantage for getting the contract in favour of AgustaWestland," the ED said in the remand application.Michel's lawyer Joseph submitted that he was in custody for a long time and the ED was given sufficient time to complete the probe."The accused is suffering from dyslexia. So putting a number of questions for hours together to the accused is unnecessary harassment. A request is made that the custody of the accused may not be extended to the ED," he said.After hearing the arguments, the court extended Michel's ED custody by seven more days.Meanwhile, the Congress alleged that Michel is being pressurized by the government to name a "particular family.""Why is the chowkidaar trying to pressurize the government agencies to name a family? BJP script writers are working over time," Congress leader RPN Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.Reacting to the development, the BJP said that ED's revelation in court shows how the Congress looted the country when they were in power."What ED told the court today has stung the entire nation. The accused in the chopper case has named Mrs Gandhi as per the ED ... Michel's interrogation has also revealed new nouns and adverbs in the chopper scam saga," BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said, referring to terms like "Big man" and "R" disclosed by the probe agency today."Now the picture is more clear because he (Michel) has said things like son of Italian lady, R, party leader, big man ... all this is coming out now," Javadekar added.Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the VVIP chopper scam case by the Enforcement Directorate and CBI. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.The CBI has alleged there was an estimated loss of €398.21 million - about Rs 2,666 crore - to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth €556.262 million.The ED, in its chargesheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he received €30 million - about Rs 225 crore - from AgustaWestland.Read this story in Marathi