New Delhi:
After questioning Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa for about a week, the CBI on Monday went to the court with new charges against the 10 private players that were favoured by former telecom minister A Raja for 2G licenses.
While these players already face charges of conspiracy and influencing a public servant, new charges of cheating and forgery have now been pressed against them.
The CBI says private players misled the government and produced false documents to claim licenses.
"We had argued on behalf of Mr Balwa that the allegations for higher amounts are for other telecom operators, and for Unitech there are allegations for above Rs 6000 crore also. Police are not investigating that. Even the CBI is not investigating that, they are only pointing fingers at us and Mr Balwa who, even though was cooperating with the CBI, has been arrested," Shahid Balwa's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said.
The CBI now has Balwa for four more days and Raja for three more days.
Raja and Balwa's lawyers strongly opposed the CBI's plea for their extended custody. Raja's lawyer even argued that this is a political conspiracy ahead of the Tamil Nadu elections.
The heat is on private players including Tatas and Reliance apart from Swan and Unitech. Many of them have issued public statements claiming they are cooperating with CBI, but the agency has still not decided whether along with Arun Shourie, they should also call the other former telecom minister, Dayanidhi Maran.
The one-man Justice Patil Committee report has pointed out how the Department of Telecom (DoT) delayed granting a license to Aircel-Dishnet in 2005. The committee also felt that Maran's ministry kept putting up queries and causing delays that 'could also result in spectrum wastage'.
Sources said this will form the second phase of investigations. For now, the CBI is racing against the March 31 deadline to nail Raja.
While these players already face charges of conspiracy and influencing a public servant, new charges of cheating and forgery have now been pressed against them.
The CBI says private players misled the government and produced false documents to claim licenses.
"We had argued on behalf of Mr Balwa that the allegations for higher amounts are for other telecom operators, and for Unitech there are allegations for above Rs 6000 crore also. Police are not investigating that. Even the CBI is not investigating that, they are only pointing fingers at us and Mr Balwa who, even though was cooperating with the CBI, has been arrested," Shahid Balwa's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said.
The CBI now has Balwa for four more days and Raja for three more days.
Raja and Balwa's lawyers strongly opposed the CBI's plea for their extended custody. Raja's lawyer even argued that this is a political conspiracy ahead of the Tamil Nadu elections.
The heat is on private players including Tatas and Reliance apart from Swan and Unitech. Many of them have issued public statements claiming they are cooperating with CBI, but the agency has still not decided whether along with Arun Shourie, they should also call the other former telecom minister, Dayanidhi Maran.
The one-man Justice Patil Committee report has pointed out how the Department of Telecom (DoT) delayed granting a license to Aircel-Dishnet in 2005. The committee also felt that Maran's ministry kept putting up queries and causing delays that 'could also result in spectrum wastage'.
Sources said this will form the second phase of investigations. For now, the CBI is racing against the March 31 deadline to nail Raja.
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