According to reports, a special team of CBI will reportedly quiz Narasimhan, currently the governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, as part of its investigations into the AgustaWestland helicopter deal today.
As the director of the Intelligence Bureau in March 2005, Narasimhan was reportedly among those who had attended a meeting where the decision was taken to reduce the service ceiling for maximum height at which a helicopter can operate optimally.
This decision reportedly made AgustaWestland eligible for the deal which pushed the UPA government to purchase 12 helicopters for VVIPs in 2010. Sources say that special team from Delhi would be arriving in Hyderabad today for quizzing Narasimhan as a witness. West Bengal governor M K Narayanan and Goa governor B V Wanchoo were already questioned by the CBI as witnesses in the chopper deal case after which they resigned.
The CBI is trying to ascertain how Rs 360 crore was paid as bribe to some of the officials and members of the committee to alter the specifications. As head of the Intelligence Bureau, Narasimhan was part of the committee entrusted to procure helicopters meant for VVIPs. Since two governors quit office soon after questioning by the CBI in the chopper scam, there are questions raised over the continuation of Narasimhan in Raj Bhavan after this episode.
