‘Found nothing, seized nothing; timing interesting’: Chidambaram on CBI Search Operations

Digital Desk: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that the CBI found and seized nothing after carrying out searches at his premises in connection with a case linked to his son Karti Chidambaram.

The CBI, today morning, conducted raids at 10 locations in multiple cities in the country, including Karti and his father’s residences in Chennai and Delhi.

The search operations were conducted at ten locations - three in Chennai, three in Mumbai, and one each in Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab, and Odisha. A CBI team also visited the official residence of P Chidambaram, the former finance minister, at Lodhi Estate in the national capital.

Hours after the raids, P Chidambaram, in a tweet, said, “timing of the search is interesting.”

“This morning, a CBI team searched my residence at Chennai and my official residence at Delhi. The team showed me an FIR in which I am not named as an accused. The search team found nothing and seized nothing. I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting.,” he tweeted.

Reportedly, the CBI had also filed a fresh case against Karti for allegedly facilitating visas of 250 Chinese nationals after receiving illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh in 2011, when P Chidambaram was the Union home minister.

When P Chidambaram was the Union home minister, the senior Congress leader allegedly took Rs 50 lakh as a bribe from 250 Chinese nationals to get them Indian visas during the UPA rule.

A Chinese firm, which was given the establishment contract for the project, had reached out to Karti as there was a shortage of manpower and there was a ceiling for allowing work permits of foreign nationals. Karti allegedly used his influence to facilitate the visas in violation of the ceiling imposed, as per the report.

Following the registration of the FIR, Karti, in a tweet, said, “I have lost count, how many times has it been? Must be a record.”