The CBI had closed the Bofors probe in 2011 due to a lack of evidence.
Bofors gun 155mm (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sent a letter rogatory (LR) to the United States, seeking information and evidence from private investigator Michael Hershman regarding the alleged Rs 64-crore Bofors bribery scandal of the 1980s, sources said.
This comes years after the private investigator expressed a willingness to share fresh information related to the case.
Advertisement
However, reacting to the development, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit termed it a “political step.”
Advertisement
“In 2004, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power, the Supreme Court had given a verdict that no evidence was found against Rajiv Gandhi. This is a treachery of justice that an individual’s name is being continuously dragged in this case,” said Dikshit.
The CBI had closed the Bofors probe in 2011 due to a lack of evidence.
However, in 2018, the agency approached a Delhi court, stating its intent to reopen the case after Hershman gave an interview to a television channel, claiming he had new information.
The Bofors scandal pertains to an alleged Rs 64-crore bribe paid in the Rs 1,437-crore deal for the procurement of 400 155mm field Howitzers with Swedish firm Bofors during the 1980s when the Congress government was in power.
In 2004, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was exonerated in the case, and similarly, all the charges against the Hinduja brothers were also quashed.
In 2011, a Delhi court discharged Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, the alleged middleman in the Bofors deal, and allowed the CBI to withdraw prosecution against him.
Advertisement
