Former Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel deposed before the CBI on Thursday over his alleged links with lobbyist Deepak Talwar in an aviation scam related to favouring foreign private airlines at the cost of Air India.
Patel was initially summoned on August 5, but he had requested his availability after August 8.
His name figures in a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against aviation lobbyist Deepak Talwar.
Talwar was investigated for his alleged deals with foreign airlines which caused loss to the national carrier Air India and is currently under CBI custody. There are allegations that in lieu of securing favourable traffic right, these airlines made payments to the tune of Rs272 crore to Talwar during 2008-09.
Sources said, Talwar and Patel could be confronted on the alleged deal.
However, the CBI spokesperson refused to offer a comment on the matter and said, “The agency doesn’t comment on matters under investigation.”
Talwar was extradited to India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January this year.
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