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P P Hinduja questioned for three hours

The Central Bureau of Investigation special unit, probing the alleged Rs 640 million payoff for the purchase of A B Bofors guns, Wednesday questioned P P Hinduja for more than three hours in two sessions. He has been called again for questioning on Thursday.

" I have been co-operating with the CBI and answering questions they have been asking," he told reporters waiting outside the CBI headquarters at Lodhi Road in south Delhi.

He refused to answer questions relating to S P Hinduja and alleged help from British minister Peter Mandelson in getting a passport for him. "These questions are not related to me. Please direct your questions to S P Hinduja," he snapped, as he tried to get out of a cordon of reporters and cameramen who had been camping there since morning.

S M Khan, spokesman for CBI, denied reports that the agency had been soft-peddling on its dealings with the Hinduja brothers and had not even asked for the seizure of their passports.

"There is no truth in the allegations. We have in our application before court asked that the Hinduja brothers be asked to surrender their passports to the designated court. We are not favouring anyone. They are being questioned as per a court directive," he said.

The Hindujas are claiming that they are not on bail and that they came to India on their own? "This is not true. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against them in court last year. And they came in pursuance of that chargesheet. As far as their claims that they are not on bail, you can go through the court order," he said.

In his order of January 19, 2001, Additional District and Sessions Judge Ajit Bharihoke said, "Keeping in view the principles of parity and facts of the case (as two of the accused -- S K Bhatnagar and W N Chadha -- are on bail), I accordingly direct the accused S P Hinduja, G P Hinduja and P P Hinduja to furnish a personal bond in the sum of Rs 2 lakh, with a surety of a like amount. Since investigations are on, the bail is conditional, subject to the accused joining the investigation as and when directed and they shall not leave the country without the court's permission," the judge said in his order.

S P Hinduja, who was questioned by the CBI for more than 16 hours over four days, is likely to move an application before court in a few days, seeking its permission to go abroad.

The Hindujas, however, refused to confirm whether they were moving the designated court or a higher court to get the relief.

EARLIER REPORT
CBI begins questioning P P Hinduja

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COMPLETE COVERAGE
The Smoking Gun

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