The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested S Bhaskar Raman, a close associate of Congress leader Karti P Chidambaram in an ongoing visa corruption case following questioning late last night, sources said.
The CBI has filed a fresh case against Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram, son of P Chidambaram, for allegedly facilitating visas of 250 Chinese nationals after receiving illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh in 2011, officials said on Tuesday.
The agency on Tuesday morning started coordinated search operations at 10 locations in multiple cities in the country, including Karti Chidambaram’s residences in Chennai and Delhi, they said.
Sources said Karti Chidambaram took bribes to facilitate entry of additional Chinese workers illegally. The home ministry, which was then headed by P Chidambaram, cleared illegal visa use for Chinese nationals in return for Karti Chidambaram’s bribes in July-August 2011, sources said.
P Chidambaram on Tuesday said a CBI team searched his residence in Chennai as well as his official residence in Delhi but “found nothing and seized nothing”. The former Union minister also said the “timing of the search is interesting”.
Issuing a statement, Chidambaram said, a CBI team searched his residence in Chennai and his official residence in Delhi. “The team showed me an FIR in which I am not named as an accused. The search team found nothing and seized nothing,” he said. “I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting,” he added.
With inputs from News18
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