India police arrest former Finance Minister Chidambaram

By Shakir Husain

NEW DELHI, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday night arrested former finance minister and prominent politician P. Chidambaram in a case of alleged corruption.

The arrest happened in a dramatic manner as a CBI team scaled the walls of Chidambaram's residence in an affluent Delhi neighbourhood after the 73-year-old politician returned from a press conference.

Chidambaram held the portfolios of finance and home ministry during the Congress party's rule between 2004 and 2014.

The CBI in 2017 had registered a case of alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's approval to INX Media company to receive foreign funds of about 3 billion rupees (RM178 million) in 2007 when Chidambaram was finance minister.

The ED last year seized several properties belonging to Chidambaram's son Karti in connection with the case.

Chidambaram, a member of parliament, earlier denied any wrongdoing during his press conference at the Congress office.

"In the INX Media case, I have not been accused of any offence. Nor has anyone else including any member of my family been accused of any offence," he said, adding that no charge-sheet has been filed by either the CBI or India's economic crime investigation agency Enforcement Directorate (ED) "before a competent court."

He said: "Yet, there is a widespread impression that grave offences have been committed and my son and I have committed those offences. Nothing can be further from the truth. These are lies spread by pathological liars."

A team of top lawyers failed to get a court order to prevent his arrest.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that Chidambaram is a victim of political vendetta.

"I strongly condemn this disgraceful misuse of power," he said in a tweet.

-- BERNAMA