India Shared Just 3 Documents For Crucial Agusta Trial, Says Italian Judge

New Delhi: Despite requests, the Congress-led government shared just three documents with Italy as it investigated how bribes were paid in India for an order for 3,600 crores for a dozen helicopters.

"We were hoping for many more, but only three papers were sent by India," said Marco Maria Maiga, the judge who handled the case in Milan against defense manufacturer Finmecannica, adding that India shared information that Italy had already collected.

His remark will facilitate an amplified attack by the ruling BJP, which has said the Congress tried to cover up a corrupt deal which involved its top leaders, some of whom, including chief Sonia Gandhi, are named in notes swapped by middlemen and executives as they strategised to pay off Indians.

Mrs Gandhi's top aide, Ahmed Patel, has said the entry of "AP" in those notes cannot be inferred as a damning reference to him, as alleged by the BJP. "The hypothesis of the prosecutors is that AP corresponds to Ahmed Patel." said the Italian judge to NDTV today.

"We have some indication of political involvement but interpretation is free," said the judge. He said that he is unaware of any request from India so far to access the material he reviewed.

The judge confirmed that he found evidence that Finmecannica had bribed then Air Chief SP Tyagi, who has been interrogated by the CBI in Delhi this week and has denied any wrongdoing.

The Congress has aggressively argued in Parliament today that the mention in documents of its leaders who were then in powerful positions cannot be interpreted in any way as hinting of collusion.

The BJP says that the fact that the Italian judge considered those notes while reaching his decision is a powerful indication of their merit.