Mallya Interview Controversy, Mumbai Police Verifying Allegations

The controversy over the Mallya interview refuses to die down.

The controversy over liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s interview to the weekly newspaper, the Sunday Guardian, clearly reflects that either one or the other is lying. Now, who is lying is a matter of investigation. Kingfisher Airlines claims to have filed a complaint with Cyber Police Mumbai, denying having given the interview.

I have not given any email or any other interview to anyone including the Sunday Guardian. The email account that has been attributed to me does not belong to me. Every comment, therefore, is fabricated. I have filed a complaint with the Cyber Police Station in Mumbai. The editor of the paper has also publicly admitted on Twitter that he would investigate the matter as this tantamounts (sic.)to fraud and needs to be seriously investigated. In all fairness, all TV channels and newspapers who have quoted from the interview should publish a retraction.

Kingfisher Airlines Official Statement

The Cyber Police are checking the veracity of the complaint. No FIR has been registered yet.

We have received an application from an individual who claims to be from Kingfisher Airlines. Since Vijay Mallya is not present in the country, we have to first check the veracity of the application and then investigate other issues mentioned in it. 

M Rajkumar, DCP, Cyber Police Mumbai

On 15 March, the editor of the Sunday Guardian tweeted:

I have asked colleague Joyeeta Basu & Pankaj Vohra to examine all the facts concerning the Mallya interview. | ^MN

— Madhav Das Nalapat (@MD_Nalapat) March 15, 2016

Joyeeta Basu of the Sunday Guardian told The Quint that they stand by the Mallya interview.

We have made our stand clear. We welcome any inquiry. We hope that the truth will come out.

Joyeeta Basu, Editor, Sunday Guardian

On 14 March, the Sunday Guardian published an interview quoting Mallya. In the interview, Mallya said:

I am an Indian to the core. Of course I want to return. But I am not sure I’ll get a fair chance to present my side. I’ve already been branded as the criminal. I do not feel the time is right. I feel passions are high. People need to think rationally. They need to understand that business, whether large or small, has risks involved. I’ve seen the highest to the lowest points in this matter. But I hope that I return one day. India has given me everything. It has made me Vijay Mallya.

But Mallya distanced himself from this interview. The newspaper has published the email trail between Mallya and the correspondent – though Mallya denies having an account in protonmail, through which correspondence was made to the newspaper.

So far Mallya has not responded to the Enforcement Directorate summons for his appearance before investigators on 18 March. Keeping in mind that it is a high profile case, the Director of the ED is flying to Mumbai on 17 March for two days to study files related to the case.