Monday, April 25, 2011

Kanimozhi accused of plotting 2G scam

Along with her, court names four others as co-accused in the Rs 1.76 lakh crore fraud
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday named five more people, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, as co-accused in the 2G Spectrum scam case.

PARTNERS IN CRIME

The supplementary charge sheet, the second so far, filed by the central investigating agency in a special court also named Sharad Kumar of Kalaignar TV, Karim Morani of Cineyug Films, and Asif Balwa and Rajiv B. Agarwal of Kusegaon Realty as co-accused.
The court summoned DMK MP Kanimozhi and four others to appear before it on May 6 as accused in 2G spectrum case saying “there is enough incriminating material on record” to proceed against them. She is accused of being part of the conspiracy and accepting bribe.
“I don’t want to comment now,” said Kanimozhi after the court summons. Dayalu Ammal, wife of Karunanidhi and stepmother of Kanimozhi, does not figure in the charge sheet. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to question the CBI for not naming Karunanidhi’s wife in the charge sheet. “She is a 60 per cent shareholder (in Kalaignar TV) but has not been named. We wonder if there was political pressure on the CBI,” said BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Previously, the probe agency had named former telecom minister A Raja, his personal aide R K Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa as accused in the 2G Spectrum scam. Later, five more corporate executives were added to the list as co-accused – Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Sanjay Chandra of Unitech and three senior officials from Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group – Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara. Currently, all the nine accused are in judicial custody.

CASE HISTORY

The case involves award of 2G Spectrum licences to private players fraudulently, causing losses of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.
The case took a serious turn after telecom minister Raja resigned on November 14. He was arrested by CBI on February 2, along with Behura and Chandolia, Swan Telecom promoter Balwa was arrested from Pune on February 8. Raja, his aide and officials from DoT face charges for their roles in fraudulently awarding 2G licences to select companies.

THE KANIMOZHI FILE

» Kanimozhi (43) is Karunanidhi’s youngest child and DMK’s Delhi face
» The Rajya Sabha MP is aligned with former telecom minister A Raja in the factional fight for supremacy within DMK
» Last year, leaked transcripts of conversations between her and Niira Radia apparently showed how she pushed Raja’s name for the telecom portfolio
» Kanimozhi owns 20 per cent stake in Chennai-based Kalaignar TV
» CBI alleges that over Rs 200 crore linked with the 2G scam flowed from a partnership firm of Shahid Balwa to Kalaignar TV
» On March 11, she was questioned by the agency in connection with the scam

Kanimozhi will appear before the special court on May 6 with the other co-accused

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