As the CBI today searched Congress MP Karti Chidambaram's home and offices over new allegations of bribe-taking, his father and former Union Minister P Chidambaram questioned the timing of the search.
The CBI searched premises linked to Karti Chidambaram across Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab, Karnataka and Odisha. Officials also visited the official home of Karti Chidambaram and P Chidambaram in Delhi.
"This morning, a CBI team searched my residence at Chennai and my official residence at Delhi. The team showed me a FIR in which I am not named as an accused. The search team found nothing and seized nothing. I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting," Mr Chidambaram, a Rajya Sabha member, tweeted.
The CBI is investigating a fresh case against Karti Chidambaram, who has been accused of facilitating visas for Chinese nationals for a bribe in 2011, when his father was the country's Home Minister.
"I have lost count, how many times has it been? Must be a record," Karti Chidambaram tweeted as news of the raids emerged.
Karti Chidambaram is being investigated in several cases, including one related to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving foreign funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore when P Chidambaram was Finance Minister.
The agency sources claim that during its probe in the INX media case, it found documents that indicate Karti Chidambaram had received Rs 50 lakh as bribe to facilitate the visa of 250 Chinese nationals for Talwandi Sabo power project in Punjab in 2011.
The power project, for which an establishment contract was given to a Chinese firm, was reportedly running behind schedule and it needed manpower urgently, but there was a ceiling on foreign nationals. The Chinese firm and its Indian partner allegedly approached Karti for help.
