Mumbai: Four days after a political furore, scam-accused Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj on Sunday gave their side of the story about their hill-station hopping trip in violation of lockdown norms.
In a detailed statement issued through their legal firm, the duo said they travelled from a rented accommodation in Khandala to their ancestral home in Mahabaleshwar as they were genuinely concerned for the health of their family owing to the coronavirus pandemic. They had heard that there were possible coronavirus cases in Khandala, the statement says.
The fact that their mother, aged 70 years who has a multitude of health problems, was with them, had heightened their concern for the well-being of their family, including spouses and children.
Besides, Kapil suffers from hypertension and was recently hospitalised while Dheeraj is also a heart patient who underwent emergency angioplasty in Switzerland in January 2018, and spent time in a hospital ICU in November 2019 for a severe lung infection, which the ED was aware of, the statement added.
Considering the circumstances, the Wadhawans thought it fit to travel further away from Khandala and Mumbai and thus decided to go to their ancestral residence in Mahabaleshwar.
The Wadhawans also refuted speculation that they are not cooperating with the ED and the CBI and are absconding or flouting lockdown rules. Attempting to set right the record, the Wadhawans said that within 24 hours, the CBI had issued three notices to them in March for appearance at short notice.
On March 15, in the last communication to the CBI, they referred to the advisories of the Centre and state governments asking citizens to avoid unnecessary travel in view of the rapid spread of coronavirus, making it inadvisable for them to return to Mumbai from Khandala.
