CBI chief says probe to cover all bank loans to Vijay Mallya

The CBI, which has admitted to erring in the matter of look-out notice to liquor baran Vijay Mallya, has claimed that it will not permit itself to a probe of Rs 900 crore given to the King of Good Times by IDBI but investigate the entire Rs 7000 crore loaned to him by Indian banks. There was now no question of sparing Kingfisher Airlines at all, CBI Director Ashok Sinha has said. The CBI would be going into all agreements and transactions pertaining to defunct Kingfisher Airlines in the last 10 years. Bank officials of the 17 banks that had given loans to the airlines would also be interrogated. The CBI was originally to pursue the matter restricted to the liability of the IDBI, but now the probe was extended to the entire bank loans to Kingfisher Airline. The Enforcement Directorate had directed Vijay Mallya to appear before it by March 18. If he does not turn up, he is very likely to be declared an absconder. The whole flurry of activity by law-enforcing agencies is expected after that. Meanwhile, Vijay Mallya is continuing to mislead the country by such platitudes as `India has given me everything' and so on.