New Delhi:
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an application in a Delhi court on Saturday to withdraw the case against Ottavio Quattrocchi. The Italian businessman is alleged to have received kickbacks in the Rs 64 crore Bofors gun deal and is considered a close friend of the Gandhi family.
The CBI application says that it simply cannot pursue the case any further. They say they have moved the application in good faith and it is justified in the present scenario.
The application includes details like the case has been dragging in court for more than 20 years and that the Red Corner Notice against the accused has not been renewed. Also, attempts to extradite the accused from two different countries have failed.
But it may not be easy for the CBI to close the case as a petition has been filed to challenge the withdrawal.
Advocate Ajay Agarwal says, "I have given the court ample evidence to prove that the CBI is trying to close the case in support of Quattrocchi."
The case comes up for hearing on October 9.
The Bofors case has travelled across the globe in the last 20 years from India to Switzerland to Malaysia to Argentina and now it's back here at Delhi's Tees Hazari courts where a final decision is expected soon.