New Delhi, July 18: The CBI today chargesheeted former BJP chief Bangaru Laxman in the Tehelka scam, more than five years after the news portal’s spy cameras caught him accepting money to influence a weapons deal.

The chargesheet, filed in the court of special CBI judge I.K. Kocchar, said investigations had revealed that between December 23, 2000, and January 6, 2001, undercover reporters from the portal met Laxman several times, posing as representatives of an arms dealer.

CBI sources said the reporters, who posed as agents of a fictitious firm ? M/s West End International, London ? held eight meetings with the former BJP chief and his aides. All these meetings were secretly recorded and the tapes, made public on March 13, 2001, forced Laxman to quit.

The CBI alleged that at these meetings, the portal’s reporters held discussions with Laxman and sought his assistance to get favourable orders from the defence ministry regarding supply of hand-held thermal imagers.

The bureau said the reporters offered Rs 5 lakh to Laxman, who received the first payment of Rs 1 lakh in his office on January 5, 2001. Asked about his currency preference for the balance amount, Laxman, the chargesheet said, requested for dollars.

The chargesheet added that during these discussions, Laxman also agreed to intercede with the defence secretary on behalf of West End and suggested that the liaison with the government could be “through us”.

CBI sources said during interrogation, Laxman had claimed that the amount of Rs 1 lakh was for the party fund. But, the sources added, investigations had revealed that showing a receipt of Rs 1 lakh as party fund was an after-thought to salvage his image as BJP president.

The sources said the probe had also disclosed that Laxman was in a position to exercise influence over public servants in the matter. So, despite his plea, the CBI had slapped a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Samples of Laxman’s voice and image and also of the others were sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Hyderabad along with the videotapes of the meetings. In June, the experts confirmed that the tapes had not been tampered with and the voices and images matched the samples.