Senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari visited Tihar jail to meet former finance minister P Chidambaram on Monday. They were accompanied by his son and Karti Chidambaram who is currently in jail in the INX Media corruption case.
Tharoor, in a tweet, said P Chidambaram looked strong and in good spirits.
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“But what a travesty his 98 days of imprisonment are. It’s Constitution Day tomorrow (on Tuesday); where is P.C.’s right to liberty? What signal does it send about our democracy?”
Chidambaram is under probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED over alleged irregularities in the FIPB clearance granted to INX Media for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during his tenure as Union Finance Minister.
The ED suspects the Congress leader and his son Karti of owning several immovable properties and over 16 bank accounts in other countries, which they are trying to identify to trace the money trail.
Chidambaram was first arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 21 in the INX Media corruption case and was granted bail by the Supreme Court on October 22. He was arrested by the ED in the money laundering case on October 16 and is in judicial custody presently.
P Chidambaram and his son Karti were named by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, who owned INX Media at the time and are currently in jail in connection with the murder of Indrani Mukerjea’s daughter Sheena Bora.