Karti Chidambaram arrives at the CBI headquarters

Officials claimed Congress MP Karti Chidambaram arrived at the CBI headquarters on Thursday to join the inquiry into an alleged visa scam involving 263 Chinese nationals in 2011, when his father, P Chidambaram, was the home minister.

He was ordered by a special court to join the CBI probe within 16 hours of his arrival from the United Kingdom and Europe, where he had traveled with the consent of the Supreme Court and the special court.

On Wednesday, the MP returned from his trip. On Thursday morning, he came at the CBI office to answer questions about the case.

Outside the CBI headquarters, Karti told reporters that the evidence against him was “bogus,” and that he had not aided the issuance of a visa to any Chinese individual. According to the CBI FIR, a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd.

(TSPL), which was building a power plant in Punjab, allegedly paid Rs 50 lakh as a bribe to Karti and his close associate S Bhaskararaman for re-issuance of project visas for 263 Chinese workers employed there.

According to the CBI FIR, a TSPL official requested the re-issuance of project visas for 263 Chinese workers, for which Rs 50 lakh was reportedly traded. Karti Chidambaram has categorically refuted all charges, asking, “If this isn’t harassment, then what is?”

In connection with the case, the agency has already brought Bhaskararaman into jail. According to the CBI, a Chinese business was responsible for setting up the power facility, which was behind schedule.