War room leak: BJP for quick action

New Delhi, June 23  The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday asked the government to act fast in its investigations into the navy war room leak scandal, even as investigators carried out raids to probe the leak of classified information.

“We do not understand why the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) has given four months to the suspects,” BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.

“Was this time given to destroy evidence? We doubt there will be any substantial recovery.”

Earlier Friday, CBI investigators raided the homes and residences of 14 people, including four navy officers, two army officers, three defence ministry officials and arms dealer Abhishek Verma.

Verma is said to have been involved in the sale of French Scorpene submarines to the Indian Navy.

“(Senior BJP leader) L.K. Advani has provided sufficient leads to the government on the Scorpene deal, which can be used to trace the money trail of Verma. The government must act fast in its investigations into one of the worst scams in Indian record,” Javadekar said.

He alleged that Verma had received Rs.2.5 billion as kickbacks in the Scorpene deal.