The CBI has approached President Pranab Mukherjee seeking permission to record the statements of Governors M K Narayanan and B V Wanchoo as witness in connection with the multi-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal.
The move comes after the Law Ministry refused permission for quizzing Narayanan and Wanchoo, governors of West Bengal and Goa respectively, earlier. Narayanan was National Security Advisor and Wanchoo, chief of Special Protection Group, at the time of negotiating the deal.
A probe is on in India and Italy in the Rs 3,727-crore deal for purchasing 12 choppers after allegations were raised that AgustaWestland paid bribes of around Rs 362 crore to swing the deal. CBI has registered a case of corruption and conspiracy against 13 people, including former Air chief S P Tyagi, in March this year.
CBI officials said they needed the versions of the two governors to know about the sequence of events that led to clearance of service ceiling specification alteration from 6,000 feet to 4,500 feet.
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