Who leaked it? blame game starts

NEW DELHI: Even as the government smarted under the political onslaught for keeping the detention of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in Argentina a secret for over two weeks, the blame game on who leaked the news is quietly gaining pace between different wings of the government.

As the government quietly attempted to trace the source of the leak, the CBI is discreetly pointing a finger at the Ministry of External Affairs for the information leak regarding Quattrocchi’s detention at Iguazu International Airport in Argentina on February 6 on a 1997 red corner notice.

Similarly, MEA officials also insist that the leak could have only come from the CBI. The government was forced to officially acknowledge the fact of the detention after word got out on February 23.

The CBI has denied that the leak occurred from within its ranks, and is pointing to various divisions in the MEA through which the information would have been routed. Three divisions within the MEA, which would have dealt with the information, are the target of suspicion. These are the legal and treaties division, the Latin American and Caribbean division and the consular passport and visa division.

The latter division deals with extradition issues, while the Legal and Treaties division deals with all the legal issues. The MEA, however, has been keeping a tight lid on whether the extradition request has gone to the Argentinean authorities. Huddled meetings have been going on in South Block on the Quattrocchi issue.

However, the investigating agency has revealed that a CBI team is set to go to Argentina on Wednesday to pursue the extradition request. While the MEA has kept quiet, the CBI has been denying that there was a delay in announcing his detention and that the CBI had to verify his identity and also translate voluminous documents, which were in Spanish, before disclosing news of the detention.

The information about the Italian businessman being detained in Argentina came from the Argentinean authorities to the Interpol headquarters in Lyons, and then to the CBI which is the Interpol liaison office for India.

The MEA, officials say, just acts as a post office through which the extradition request would have gone. So it remains to be seen which wing of the government gets blamed for the leak.