High drama at Marans' house

A 13-member CBI team from Delhi with the assistance of local CBI officials split into three groups and fanned out to search the back-to-back facing bungalows of the Maran (Jr) brothers in Boat Club.

Two other teams swooped down upon the Sun Network’s headquarters here at MRC Nagar, another pricey real estate area, besides the residence of Suneeta Reddy and an office of Apollo Hospitals with which she is associated, for search operations vis-à-vis the 2G case.

The CBI officials were tight-lipped on the search outcome at Dayanidhi’s residence. The raids were part of the CBI’s extended investigations into the former minister’s role in allegedly arm-twisting businessman C Sivasankaran into selling his Aircel stake to Malaysia-based Maxis Group, which later by a complex route invested in SUN’s DTH business.

Though Suneeta Reddy had earlier denied that neither Apollo Hospitals nor her father Dr Prathap C Reddy had investments in the telecom sector, the CBI is looking into an extended angle of a charge that the Reddys’ from this hospital group family later picked up a 26 per cent stake in Maxis. Hence, Reddy’s house in Chennai and her office were also searched.

Initial expectations that both Dayanidhi and Kalanidhi were not at their respective homes when CBI raids were going on, were later belied. As the team members reached Dayanidhi’s First Avenue bungalow in Boat Club, a heated argument ensued as the securityman did not allow the sleuths inside.

Later in the day, DMK president M Karunanidhi’s fourth son M K Tamizharasu, walked in. He was to sign as a witness on the ‘mahazar’ of seizures made by the CBI, a source close to DMK said. The raids looked almost over by 3:00 pm when a part of the CBI team came out with a bag in hand and were speedily driven away in a van used by the CBI.

However, a more in-depth dimension to the CBI raids at Marans’ residence unveiled when four BSNL personnel led by an assistant engineer were summoned to the former minister’s house. The sleuths then focused on Dayanidhi Maran’s allegedly role in abusing his official position as telecom minister between May 2004-07.

CBI raids in Hyderabad
According to unconfirmed reports CBI sleuths in a joint operation with counterparts from Chennai, have conducted raids at the homes and offices of persons allegedly involved in the 2G scam here on Monday, DHNS reports.

In an early morning swoop the houses of Sunita Reddy of the Apollo group and residences of promoters of Value Labs, Arjun Rao (CEO), Kondal Rao and Harini Rao in Road Number 62 of Jubilee Hills are also being raided. Sunitha Reddy, however, has not been named in the FIR. The CBI teams also searched the office of Gemini TV (Sun TV) in Banjara hills. However, the Apollo hospital in press release denied any relation with the 2G scam. “Over the last few days, there have been some scattered reports in sections of the media with regard to Maxis and Apollo Hospitals in reference to Brand Aircel. These have been reports that are both unsubstantiated and in many cases, arbitrary and misinformed,” it said.