Court sends Chidambaram into police custody

An Indian court yesterday ordered a former finance minister into police custody for questioning for four days, in a case stemming from government approval of foreign investment in a local media company, a judge said. The rare action against P Chidambaram, a top leader of the main opposition Congress party and a trenchant critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, drew opposition accusations that the authorities are pursuing a political vendetta. Chidambaram was arrested at his New Delhi home on Wednesday after federal police agents jumped over the wall when they found the gates closed. Yesterday he appeared before a federal police court which said it needed to hold him until Aug 26 for further questioning. The allegations in the case centre around the role of Chidambaram, his son Karti Chidambaram, and several former government officials, in approving foreign direct investment in local media firm INX Media in 2007. The Central Bureau of Investigation says the approval was illegal and that it was a case of “abuse of power”.