Agustawestland case: MP CM’s nephew Ratul Puri sent to judicial custody till October 1
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday sent Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, to judicial custody till October 1 in a money laundering case related to the alleged AgustaWestland helicopter scam.
Special judge Arvind Kumar sent Puri to jail after he was produced by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after 14-day custodial interrogation.
Puri’s counsel submitted that he apprehends that Ratul could be “harmed” by the co-prisoners during travel for extortion of money> He urged the court to pass necessary directions for providing necessary vehicle to the accused for taking him to Tihar Jail.
Special judge Arvind Kumar allowed Puri to take medicines along with him to jail subject to the opinion of the jail doctor. The judge also asked the jail superintendent to consider the request of Puri to provide orthopaedic mattress as per prison rules.
In January 2014, India had scrapped a contract with Finmeccanica’s British subsidiary, Agustawestland, for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP helicopters to the Indian Air Force, over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks worth ₹423 crore being paid to secure the deal. Puri was summoned by the ED after he was named by middlemen, Rajiv Saxena and Sushen Mohan Gupta, in the scam.
