2G case: CBI to produce MEA official as witness

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is likely to present a former Indian High Commissioner to Mauritius as  prosecution witness in connection with the alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum to Loop telecom.

The 1975-batch IFS officer Madhusudan Ganpathi, now posted as Secretary (West) in Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), had informed the ministry in March that officials of Loop Telecom had contacted him for details on  the Letters Rogatory, sent by the CBI regarding the probe into certain transactions by Mauritian companies.

According to CBI sources, the Ministry had then forwarded the questions posed by the Loop officials to the investigating agency. 

The CBI, which believes the meeting between the Loop officials and Ganpathi was purported to influence the probe, is likely to raise the issue during the trial.

The probe agency has listed Ganpathi as witness number 29, among 100 witnesses, in its second supplementary charge sheet filed before a special court. These witnesses, whose statement is yet to be recorded may be produced in the court.

The agency had said "allegations have also surfaced that some public servants of the Government of India have stakes in Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd (formerly Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd) and Loop Telecom, through Mauritius based companies."