New Delhi: Former Air Force chief SP Tyagi, his cousin Sanjiv alias Julie Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were on Friday arrested by the CBI for alleged corruption in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case. They will be produced in court on Saturday.

ALSO READ: Never Met SP Tyagi, Says Middleman Christian Michel

Tyagi, who retired in 2007, was questioned by the CBI extensively in the past in this case. "This is the first time that a former IAF chief has been arrested by the central probe agency," official sources said.

Sources said Tyagi was taken into custody in the morning from Gurgaon.

ALSO READ: Five Charges Against Ex-IAF Chief SP Tyagi & What he Said

The Rs 3600 crore to supply 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland came under the scanner after Italian authorities alleged that bribe was paid by the company to clinch the deal. Tyagi has been accused of influencing the deal in favour of AgustaWestland during his tenure as the IAF chief. He has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Probe reveals undue favour was shown,AgustaWestland Ltd accepted illegal vendors through middlemen/relatives including Sanjeev Tyagi etc-CBI — ANI (@ANI_news) December 9, 2016

Arrested accused will be produced tomorrow before competent court in Delhi: CBI spox Devpreet Singh on AgustaWestland case pic.twitter.com/AcHb1QzhHm — ANI (@ANI_news) December 9, 2016

Reacting to the arrest, Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the deal, told CNN-News18 that he had never met the former IAF chief. Michel, however, admitted to meeting Julie at a party. “He was introduced to me as a person who was working in the energy sector and an influential person. I was never told formally that the Tyagis were working for Agusta or helping Agusta in the chopper deal,” Michel told CNN-News18.

ALSO READ: Here are Other Key Players in the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper Deal

Hitting out at ruling BJP over the arrest, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi questioned its timing. “BJP never did anything in the case for last three years. Why the arrest now? This is a diversionary tactic,” he said. “It will be a sad day if he (Tyagi is convicted)”.

ALSO READ: Timeline of the AgustaWestland Chopper Deal Case

In March 2013, the CBI had registered a case in the deal. Based on the CBI complaint, Enforcement Directorate officials had booked Air Marshal Tyagi and some members of his family. And in July 2014, the Enforcement Directorate registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Tyagi and 20 others.

Total deal amount in AgustaWestland was Rs 3767 Crore and bribe amount was 12% of main amount: CBI — ANI (@ANI_news) December 9, 2016

The FIR filed by the CBI mentioned that Tyagi allegedly helped in swinging this deal, specifically by lowering the service height from 6,000m to 4,500m.

The FIR, however, doesn't mention Tyagi having received any money, but says his cousins received payments from Haschke in two remittances to the tune of 1,26,000 euros and 2,00,000 euros for 'consultancy' services through IDS Tunisia.

ALSO READ: 5 Charges Against SP Tyagi & What he Said

On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks of Rs 423 crore by it for securing the deal.

These choppers were supposed to be used for flying the President of India, the Prime Minister and other such VVIPs.

CBI had also got issued Letters Rogatory (judicial requests) to multiple countries to gather more leads and evidences in this case.

AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini and Guiseppe Orsi, chairman of AgustaWestland's parent company Finmeccanica, were arrested by Italian police in February 2013 on charges of paying bribes to win the deal.

(With PTI inputs)