Raipur: Eight days after CM Baghel hinted at the possibility of the probe into the purchase of Augusta Westland, a group of members from the Congress party submitted a memorandum to the CM. The memorandum demanded an enquiry into the purchase of the chopper which CM had also hinted.
Congress spokesperson RP Singh, Social worker Kunal Shukla and RTI activitst Abhishek Pratap Singh were among few of those who conevned with the CM and submitted the memorandum.
In the memorandum, the congress members demanded an investigation of the tender process of helicopters, detailed probe into the commercial transactions between tenders. It also urged other state governements to invesatigate the pruchase rate of the Augusta Westland Helicopter. Investigation on role of then CM Raman Singh in the purchase is also mentioned along with the agent the aviation ministry had pruchased the helicopter from.
Augusta Westland-109 helicopter, which crashed at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur on May 12 night killing two pilots on board, was embroiled in a controversy over alleged kickbacks after the Chhattisgarh government brought it in 2007.
Senior Congress leader T S Singhdeo, who is now health minister in Chhattisgarh, and Nitin Sinha had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2016-17 over alleged irregularities in chopper purchase, violation of tender rules and other issues after the then BJP government purchased this chopper in 2007. Besides, two other petitions were also filed by Swaraj Abhiyan and another one by activist Rakesh Choubey over the same issue.