Did PM Modi direct CBI to change lookout notice against Vijay Mallya? asks Congress
The question is did they issue it on the order of the court or by the order of honorable Prime Minister," Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi asked.
In an attempt to corner the government over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s claim that they changed the nature of lookout notice against liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who fled the country without repaying around Rs 9,000 crore to the banks, the Congress on Saturday asked whether this was done on the direction from the court or from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The CBI has been accused of changing the nature of lookout notice against Mallya within one month of issuance from seeking his detention while leaving the country to that merely providing information about his travel plans. "We have heard this for the first time that CBI has said that they have issued a lookout notice by mistake to Vijay Mallya. Is it a child's play?..It cannot be issued just like that. It has a procedure and a system. And the other question is did they issue it on the order of the court or by the order of honorable Prime Minister," Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the media persons here.
Hinting that the government was hand in glove in Mallya's escape, Singhvi said that the entire episode appears 'mysterious' to him. "I would like to remind you that such lookout notices are not limited to only national boundaries, but it also links to the Interpol and international authorities," he said.
The investigation agency had earlier also informed that Mallya had joined questioning on December 9, 2015 and 10 in New Delhi and on December 12 in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Mallya to appear before the agency next Friday (March 18) for questioning in the ongoing probe into a money-laundering case.
Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, yesterday accused the NDA Government of helping Mallya escape India.
The Supreme Court had on Wednesday brushed aside a plea by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to direct Mallya to appear personally before the court to force him to come back to India.
Earlier today, employees of Mallya's now defunct Kingfisher Airlines wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi in a 'humanitarian' appeal, seeking his intervention in safeguarding the interest of the employees.