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Getting Quattrocchi

Efforts to secure the extradition of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi to India have failed for the second time since 2002 when a Malaysian court turned down a similar plea by the CBI. With the refusal of an Argentine court on Saturday to grant the CBI's request to extradite him, India is left with no option but to appeal in Argentina's Supreme Court. That is the end of the road. As two decades have been wasted on the Bofors issue, there is no point in pursuing it if the Supreme Court turns down the request.

K.V. Seetharamaiah,
Hassan

* * *

The decision was along expected lines. There was an inordinate delay on the CBI's part in approaching the El Dorado court for Mr. Quattrocchi's extradition. In fact, it was done after the media and the opposition exerted pressure on the UPA government.

That the Congress is keen on letting him off was clear from the fact that the freeze on his bank account in London was lifted on the CBI's request to enable him to take away the money parked there. The only option for the government is to prefer an appeal without further delay.

Rathnavel Srinivasan,
Chennai

* * *

India had a golden opportunity to get Mr. Quattrocchi when he was still in the country. But the Narasimha Rao government allowed him to flee in 1993, perhaps under pressure. The case has been deliberately weakened. The Argentine court's decision is no surprise because the CBI made only a belated effort without proper evidence.

A. Srikantaiah,
Bangalore

* * *

The BJP's stand that the CBI should appeal against the verdict is welcome. But its charge that the Congress tries to help Mr. Quattrocchi covertly or overtly is ridiculous, as the six-year NDA rule did virtually nothing to expedite the matter either.

The country has already incurred a huge expenditure on the case in its vain efforts to book the culprits. The government should decide whether more money is to be wasted on matters in which the outcome depends on many extraneous factors.

C.P. Velayudhan Nair,
Kochi

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