Chidambaram supported controversial arms dealers Ravi Rishi and Sanjay Bhandari despite Intelligence Bureau warnings

Controversial arms dealers late Ravi Rishi and fugitive economic offender Sanjay Bhandari - promoted Vectra Group were actively aided and supported by tainted former Home and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

From 2005, owing to adverse reports of the Intelligence Bureau, Ravi Rishi and Sanjay Bhandari were not given security clearance. However, after Chidambaram landed in the Home Ministry, he entertained the Vectra Group by giving them security clearance. Moreover, with Chidambaram’s knowledge certain officials in the Home Ministry’s Internal Security Division tricked to give the Vectra Group to lease their helicopters for anti-Naxal operations.

The firm Vectra Group was blacklisted in the year 2012 when it was caught in the Tatra Trucks bribery case. Till the Tatra Trucks scam blew up in 2012, the Home Ministry was knowingly entertaining Ravi Rishi and Sanjay Bhandari under Chidambaram’s protection. Though the Vectra Group was promoted by Ravi Rishi and Sanjay Bhandari, they tricked by changing the Directors of the firm. Although the Home Ministry had reportedly objected to the family members of Ravi Rishi being inducted as Board members, these objections were over-ruled by senior IAS officials in the Internal Security Division supported by Chidambaram.

A series of e-mail communications between Ravi Rishi and Sanjay Bhandari with several tainted officials of the Home Ministry during the erstwhile Government of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) when Chidambaram was the Home Minister have been traced. According to the e-mails, Intelligence Bureau was resisting giving security clearance to Ravi Rishi and Sanjay Bhandari as the former was reported to be a part of a Russian espionage and the latter was involved in some criminal cases.