AugustaWestland scam: CBI quizzes Goa governor

Panaji, July 4 (IANS): A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team on Friday quizzed Goa Governor B.V. Wanchoo in connection with the AugustaWestland VVIP chopper procurement scam.

A team of CBI officials arrived at Raj Bhavan located near Panaji and are still present in the official residence of the governor.

A CBI official on the condition of anonymity said the questioning of Wanchoo will be on the lines of then national security advisor and former West Bengal governor M.K. Narayanan.

Wanchoo, a former Indian Police Service officer, was the head of the elite Special Protection Group. 

According to the CBI, both he and Narayanan were part of meetings which led to the height ceiling of the VVIP choppers to be reduced, enabling AugustaWestland, an Italian chopper company, to enter the bidding picture.

Wanchoo is still to complete three years of his term.

But the BJP has been stepping up heat on him with several senior party leaders, including BJP state vice president Wilfred Mesquita, repeatedly asking him to resign "for his own good".