Bribe-for-visa case: Karti Chidambaram quizzed on 3rd straight day by CBI

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram was questioned for the third consecutive day by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday in connection with his alleged involvement in the Chinese visa scandal.

Later, Chidambaram claimed that the agency seized his confidential parliament papers. He told reporters that he has written to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla about it and is awaiting his response.

Likening his questioning to a test cricket game, Chidambaram alleged it is a tactic of political vendetta and harassment.


Chidambaram was questioned by CBI for over eight hours on Thursday and again on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, he had called the case against him "bogus". "I have not facilitated a single Chinese national in getting a visa," he had told reporters.

The federal agency earlier this week booked the Congress MP and co-accused on charges of money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

A special CBI court earlier this week had granted him interim protection from arrest till May 30 in a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED will probe alleged proceeds of crime generated in the alleged Chinese visa scandal. Chidambaram is likely to be summoned by ED for questioning, said people in the know. A special CBI Court on Monday had extended CBI's custodial interrogation of S Bhaskararaman, Karti Chidambaram's chartered accountant and alleged frontman, by three days. Bhaskararaman is a co-accused in the case.