His reference seen aimed at Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi. Some "big man R" referred to in his communications: Investigators

AgustaWestland Chopper Deal: Christian Michel was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate after he was extradited from the UAE earlier this month and was produced in Delhi's Patiala House Court after seven days in the probe agency's custody

Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, has named "Mrs Gandhi" and "the son of the Italian lady" while in custody, the Enforcement Directorate informed a court in Delhi today. Though the investigating agency did not specify the context used by Michel, his reference was seen aimed at Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi.

Christian Michel, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate over money laundering charges in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam after he was extradited from the UAE earlier this month, was produced in Delhi's Patiala House Court after seven days in the probe agency's custody.

"We need to decipher who is this 'big man' referred to as 'R' is in the communication between Christian Michel and other people. We need to confront Michel with other people to decipher this," the Enforcement Directorate told the court.

The probe agency said the British national had handed over a piece of paper while shaking hands with his lawyer. When that paper was checked, it had questions related to Sonia Gandhi, the agency added, and wanted the lawyer's access to Michel withdrawn. To which the court replied that the lawyer can meet Michel for 15 minutes in the morning and the evening instead of the usual hour-long meet, but will have to maintain a three-feet distance.

The Enforcement Directorate said it wanted Michel's custody for eight more days, but the court this evening extended the custody by a week.