12 December 2000

OFFICER IN LONDON FOR BOFORS PROBE

From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: A top official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has quietly slipped off to London for conducting the Bofors investigations as also to consult the British lawyers regarding the Hindujas who have been issued notices to appear before the Special Court in Delhi in the Bofors kickback case.

The trip of CBI Special Director Gopalachari is being kept a closely guarded secret on the excuse that those involved in the kickback case are quite influential persons and may sabotage the purpose of his visit. Inquiries with the CBI headquarters, however, confirmed that he has left for London and will be back after four days. Nobody, however, knows purpose of his trip, the CBI sources claimed.

Gopalachari is also connected with the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) investigating the conspiracy angle to assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and as such he may interact with the officials of the British Government regarding the reported British move to ban the LTTE which is already a banned organisation in India. END