The Indian government has given consular access for the British High Commission to meet its citizen Christian Michel, who is currently under the custody of investigative agencies probing the AgustaWestland scam.
British High Commission in India: “Our staff are supporting a British man who is detained in India, and have visited him to check his welfare.” https://t.co/XgMFaUYd2Q
— ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2019
Michel was extradited to India on 4 December, from United Arab Emirates (UAE). UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office(FCO) had sought urgent information from India regarding detention and extradition of Christian Michel. They had also asked for consular access to Michel.
Meanwhile, Michel had moved an application in the CBI court, to grant him permission to contact his family members and lawyers. The Tihar Jail superintendent has been asked by the court to file a response by January 14.
Last year in December, ED had asked the court to bar Michel from meeting his lawyer, because they alleged he was getting tutored by outside forces during the interrogation. ED said he was misusing legal access by passing slips to the lawyer, asking them how to tackle questions on “Mrs. Gandhi”. The court had restricted his meetings after the accusation.
Christian Michel has reportedly made many sensational confessions after coming to India. Christian Michel, had also identified ‘AP’ and ‘Fam’, the notings that were found in a diary belonging to him. He allegedly confirmed that AP refers to Ahmed Patel, senior Congress politician, and Fam refers to the Family. He was also reported to have access to UPA’s internal meetings.
Recently it was also unearthed that, Christian Michel’s involvement was not only restricted to AgustaWestland scam. He had also lobbied against France-based Rafael, in order to enable Eurofighter, its rival, to grab the MMRCA deal.
On 5th January, the Patiala House Court had extended Michel’s judicial custody till February 26.
“Our staff is supporting a British man who is detained in India, and have visited him to check his welfare” British High Commision was quoted by ANI. The spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar has also confirmed that the British High Commission has been granted consular access to Michel.
