Raja grilled; fresh charges by month-end

2G scam co-accused also quizzed

The extensive interrogation has been carried out  ahead of the investigating agency’s third chargesheet before the special CBI court by month-end.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also interrogated Gautam Doshi, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Reliance Group (ADAG) Vice-President,  about the links Reliance Telecom had with the Swan Telecom.

Sources said a team of CBI sleuths grilled the suspects for about three hours at the Patiala court lock-up.

The CBI suspects that both Loop and Swan were used as fronts for Essar of Ruia Group and ADAG respectively. The companies were given licences in violation of the guidelines by the department of Telecom and Telecom Regulatory Authority .

It was alleged that Raja closed the complaint against Loop telecom without taking legitimate action on it. According to sources, the CBI quizzed Raja and Behura on the reasons for not calling for vigilance inquiry. Loop and Swan  were among the nine companies allotted licences in 2008 when  Raja was the telecom minister.

A telecom company cannot own more than 10 per cent of another telecom company in the circle where it operates. Essar, a partner in Vodafone Essar, owned more than 10 per cent in Loop when the licences were given, it is alleged.

Interestingly in 2009, the Corporate Affairs Ministry under Salman Khurshid had said Loop was not eligible for the 2G licence and spectrum under this rule as it was an associate company of Essar.

The ministry, however, under Murli Deora took a U-turn on the issue by completely revising its view. Deora, who quit the cabinet earlier this month, was shifted in January from the Oil and Natural Gas Ministry to Corporate Affairs.

His former ministry was under fire from the Comptroller and Auditor General  for the alleged irregularities in seismic survey by its former director-general Hydrocarbons V K Sibal.

The Ministry for Corporate Affairs has clarified that it has not conducted any independent investigation to determine if Essar was a major stakeholder in Loop Telecom when the latter was given 21 telecom licences in 2008.

The CBI had lashed out at  the ministry  for providing contradictory information.  The ministry is understood to have also denied that it had handled the Loop and Swan cases differently.

The ministry said   its presentation of facts is based on information in the Registrar of Companies and claimed that  the CBI did not send it a copy of the status report before submitting it in court.

Sources said ADAG Vice- President Doshi had been questioned over the company’s violation of the 10 per cent guidelines  under  Section 8 of the Unified Access Service Licences  in connection with Swan Telecoms.      

The CBI  had sought permission to interrogate the three and was allowed to do so  ahead of its  third supplementary chargesheet.  Besides Raja, the CBI is also investigating  the Aircel-Maxis deal and role of another  former telecom minister and DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran.

Aircel founder and Sterling group Chairman C Sivasankaran, in a recent statement to the CBI, named 10 witnesses in connection with a deal between Aircel and Maxis nearly five years ago.  He alleged coercion by Maran to sell his stakes in Aircel to the Malaysia-based group, to which the former telecom minister was said to be close.