The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: AugustaWestland chopper case accused Christian James Michel has submitted to a local court in Delhi that he be allowed to remain in Tihar jail as staying in Delhi on bail would be unsafe for him.
Earlier this week, the Delhi high court had granted bail to Michel in the corruption case after over six years in custody. The high court had noted the case as exceptional, highlighting that though Michel had been in custody for the last six years and two months, the trial had not yet begun due to incomplete investigation. On February 18 this year, the Supreme Court also granted him bail in a related case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) depending on conditions decided by the trial court.
However, on March 7, appearing before the court of special judge Sanjeev Aggarwal, Michel asked that because of “security risks”, he be allowed to remain in Delhi’s Tihar jail and complete his sentence.
“I can’t accept the bail. Its unsafe. Every time I step out of Tihar, something happens. The problem I am having is with police. I’d rather talk to you in private,” he told the judge.
According to a Times of India report, when Judge Aggarwal asked him about his well-being, Michel said “Delhi was just a larger prison for him.
“He mentioned something happened in AIIMS that he would rather talk to court about in private”, the news report added. The judge then asked the media persons and police to leave the courtroom.
Michel is among three persons who allegedly acted as middlemen in the deal signed in 2010 by India government with the Italian helicopter company AugustaWestland for supply of VVIP choppers. The CBI, in its chargesheet, had claimed that money laundering for the deal had caused an estimated loss of Rs 2,666 crore to the public exchequer. The other two accused in the case are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. In 2013, According to an India Today report, Haschke had told a court in Italy that “he had met former IAF chief S.P. Tyagi six to seven times while recounting his role in the scandal.”
AgustaWestland and the Tyagi brothers had, however, denied any wrongdoing at their end.
In 2018, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), however, had extradited Michel on charges of money laundering in a case it had registered. Since then, he had been in Tihar jail. According to the ED chargesheet filed in 2016, Michel allegedly received Rs 225 crore from AugustaWestand to push the deal.
The deal was cancelled by the India government due to the corruption charges.