Sunday, February 6, 2011

2G scam: Former minister A Raja, key aides arrested by CBI


Tags : 2G scam, A Raja arrested, CBI arrests R K Chandolia, Siddharth Behuria, Raja, 2G spectrum irregularities, Kapil Sibal

Posted: Wed Feb 02 2011, 14:18 hrs New Delhi:

Former Telecom Minister A Raja and his close associates R K Chandolia and Siddharth Behuria were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation today afternoon for their alleged role in the procedural irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum.

On Tuesday, the one-man panel set up to examine the procedures for awarding 2G licences between 2001 and 2009, had submitted its report to Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal. It is understood the panel of retired chief justice Shivaraj V Patil had named Raja and his former personal secretary Chandolia and telecom secretary Behuria for wrongdoing in his 150-page report.

“I have identified the officials on whose part there were deficiency or lapses,” Justice (retd) Shivaraj Patil had said after submitting the report, which has annexures running into 1,300 pages. However, he had refused to name the officials allegedly responsible for failing to implement the policy in a transparent and fair manner.

Raja arrest an instance of law taking its own course: Cong

Congress said the arrest of former Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum allocation scam was a case of law taking its own course.

"Congress had said earlier also that all such cases should be investigated and enquired properly and law will take its own course," AICC General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi told reporters. He dismissed as a "silly judgement" a question whether the arrest of a former Minister in the UPA government showed that the dispensation was corrupt.

"I am not bound to answer such silly judgement," he said.