Christian Michel- Narendra Modi's Prize Catch

The extradition of Christian Michel, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland deal, was a shot in the arm for the CBI and the Union government. But, it took years of planning and surgical precision to complete Operation Unicorn. THE WEEK brings you the story of the dramatic chase.

- Namrata Biji Ahuja

As the 10-man team led by CBI joint director A. Sai Manohar boarded the Gulfstream jet for Dubai, there was a sense of mission. Seldom had a plane from the R&AW’s covert air wing been used for such a task. They were going to bring home British national Christian Michel, an alleged middleman in the 13,600-crore AgustaWestland helicopter deal.

This was the climax of years of toil, which included travel to Milan and Dubai, and translation of reams of documents from Italian to English. This was going to be the Narendra Modi government’s biggest victory in its fight against corruption. It would also be a shot in the arm for the CBI, which is in the throes of a credibility crisis. Rakesh Asthana, the CBI special director who had formed a special investigation team for the case, is now warming the bench. He was relieved of his duties after a bitter battle with CBI director Alok Verma spilled into the public domain. Verma, too, was asked to go on leave.

On the day of the flight, however, Asthana forgot his personal battle and followed the developments from his Pandara Road home in Delhi. The special investigation team had been on the case since June 2016.

Sources said Asthana did not want the infighting to affect the agency’s working. On November 6, Asthana met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval at his pre-Diwali get-together for the security establishment. The event reflected the changing power equations against the backdrop of the feud in the intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Alok Verma was noticeably absent, but Asthana came with his wife. The pressing issue, Asthana felt, was the completion of the extradition of Christian Michel. In fact, he had just finished all the paperwork.