Two months after being asked to quit the Union Cabinet, DMK leader and former telecom minister Andimutha Raja was on Wednesday arrested by the CBI for allegedly using his position to favour a few companies who benefited from the sale of valuable 2G spectrum licences at rock-bottom prices.
The CBI also arrested two officials—former telecom secretary Siddartha Behura and Raja’s personal secretary R K Chandolia—who worked with the then minister department sold the licences in 2008. Raja was arrested after being summoned to CBI headquarters here for questioning for the fourth time. CBI sources said during the course of interrogation he was being “evasive.” He was arrested under IPC Section 120B (conspiracy) and Sections 13(2), 13(1D) of the Prevention of Corruption Act on charges of criminal misconduct, violation of policies and favouring some specific companies during the grant of 2G spectrum licences. The three will be produced in court on Thursday."Based on the facts disclosed so far during investigations regarding their role in allocation of letter of intent and resultant unified access services licenses and spectrum to certain companies ahead of others, the CBI arrested the then telecom minister, the then telecom secretary, the then private secretary to the minister," a brief statement issued by the CBI said.
The investigating agency apparently acted swiftly after the one-man commission headed by Supreme Court Justice (retd) Shivraj Patil, who was appointed by the Centre to probe violation of procedures in the distribution of spectrum since 1991, submitted its report on Monday. The CBI zeroed in on 47-year-old Raja after a gap of over a year since it first filed an FIR against some unidentified telecom department officials. Raja was then not named in the FIR.
CBI sources said the decision to arrest Raja was taken after one of those questioned by it reportedly gave details of some financial transactions of the former minister between 2007, when the process for allocating the new licences began, and January, 2008 when the actual licences were given.They said the person who “spilled the beans” could be made an approver during the trial.
Raja’s arrest comes two days after DMK chief M Karunanidhi held discussions with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to firm up the alliance between the two parties for the coming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. Both parties have ruled out Raja's arrest having any impact on the political tie-up between them.
While the Congress reacted by saying that "what has happened is law taking its course and it has nothing to do with the political alliance," the BJP described Raja’s arrest as “too little, too late” and said its demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe stood vindicated.
In its FIR, the CBI pegged the loss in spectrum allocation at Rs 22,000 crore based on findings by the Central Vigilance Commission which had referred the case to it. Searches conducted at his residence here and at Perambalur in Tamil Nadu and on the houses of a number of his associates and relatives is believed to have yielded documents that link him to the scandal.
The CBI has to submit its report before the Supreme Court on February 10 and explain the progress of investigations in the case which is being keenly monitored by the apex court which had directed the agency and the Enforcement Department to submit status reports of their respective probes.
The court has asked the CBI and ED to submit status reports on their investigations to it by February 10 when the case will come up for further hearing. The CBI has questioned former Trai chief Pradip Baijal and former telecom secretary D S Mathur in connection with the case.
No comments:
Post a Comment