On Day Two, ED questions Praful Patel for nine hours

NEW DELHI: Former civil aviation minister Praful Patel was questioned by Enforcement Directorate for the second consecutive day in connection with an escalating probe into the decisions taken under the UPA government which resulted in huge benefits to foreign airlines, aircraft manufacturers and others at taxpayer's cost.
Sources said Patel was questioned, like on Monday, for nine hours about his dealings with the influential corporate lobbyist who allegedly had a successful run in the civil aviation sector during the UPA decade.
ED's interest in Patel stems from the alleged evidence of his close links with lobbyist Deepak Talwar. ED sources claim that apart from the evidence of the links between the two, Talwar, who is currently in judicial custody, admitted that he was in regular touch with the office of the former civil aviation minister to get policies tweaked for the benefit of his clients. Patel's interrogation remains inconclusive and and will further continue over the next week as the agency claims to have found "crucial evidence" which corroborate Talwar's statement.
ED has established remittances to the tune of Rs 370 crore in the shell companies associated with Talwar. It has alleged that the proceeds of crime generated were from foreign airlines that had benefited from the tweaked policies. In the money laundering case against the lobbyist, the ED has recorded statements of former civil aviation secretary and the then chairperson of Air India which, along with the statements of Talwar, formed the basis of a detailed questionnaire for Patel to answer about his involvement in the case.
The flagship carrier had placed huge orders of new aircraft worth over Rs 30,000 crore at a time when it was strapped for cash and was in the process of ceding profitable routes to foreign airlines