HIGH drama unfolded in New Delhi late yesterday as officers from India’s equivalent of the FBI scaled the walls of a former finance minister’s home to arrest him on corruption charges, reported AFP, citing local media.

Earlier in the day, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alerted airports to prevent Palaniappan Chidambaram, who was finance minister from 2004 to 2008, and again from 2012 to 2014, from leaving the country.

Chidambaram, 73, earlier this week failed to secure bail and had not been seen since Tuesday, until he showed up at the headquarters of the opposition Congress party yesterday to proclaim his innocence.

At a press conference, he called his accusers “pathological liars”.

Driving to his home in the upscale Jor Bagh neighbourhood afterwards, he was tailed by some 30 CBI officers, who knocked on the door before scaling the boundary walls, reported Press Trust of India (PTI).

Once three officers were inside, they opened the gates to allow team members to enter, while others rushed to the back door to secure all exit points, said the paper.

After Chidamabaram was arrested, party supporters gathered outside his home to protest. Some jumped on the car in which the politician was taken away, added PTI.

Chidambaram has been charged in relation to alleged kickbacks and money-laundering involving a media company when he was finance minister under former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

He is expected to appear in a special CBI court tomorrow, said PTI.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the allegations in the case revolve around the roles played by Chidambaram and his son, Karti, as well as several former government officials, in approving the acquisition of telecoms company Aircel Ltd by Malaysia’s Maxis Bhd.

A CBI official last month told reporters that the accused individuals would face charges of “abuse of official position and criminal conspiracy in giving illegal approval”.

Maxis and Karti have dismissed the claims as unfounded. – August 22, 2019.