2G Scam: Kanimozhi, 4 Others Charged

The CBI has filed a 2nd supplementary chargesheet regarding the 2G spectrum scam, in a special court in Patiala today. Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal (directors of Kusegaon Realty), Karim Morani of Cineyug Films, Sharad Kumar (MD of Kalaignar TV) and Kanimozhi were the co-accused in the chargesheet.

However, A Raja's lawyer prevented the court from opening the chargesheet.

To the surprise of all, Dayalu Ammal, the wife of Karunanidhi, was not named in the chargesheet. This is despite the fact that Dayalu has a 60% stake in Kalaignar TV, while Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi owns 20% of the enterprise.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded that the government explain the reason behind Dayalu Ammal being allowed to walk free of any charges. The party questioned if the CBI was subjected to any sort of pressure.

The CBI had already named 9 other in the first chargesheet that it had filed on 2nd April, 2011.

The 2G Spectrum case dates back to 2008 when former telecom minister A Raja issued licenses to private telecom companies for peanuts. The Telecom Regulatory Authority in India (TRAI) had, at the time, advised Raja to auction the licenses at market rates. The minister chose to ignore the advice - an action that cost the State exchequer Rs. 1.76 lakh crores, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

SWAN Telecom, a beneficiary of the 2G scam, had bought its license for Rs. 1,537 crores even though it did not meet the eligability criteria. Swan went on to sell 45% of its stake to Etisalat (a UAE-based company) for Rs. 4,200 crores. Unitech is another such beneficiary of the scam.

A Raja, the kingpin of the scam, was arrested by the CBI on 2 February 2011. Gautam Doshi (MD of ADA Group), Sanjay Chandra (MD of Unitech Wireless), Vinod Goenka (DB Group Promoter), and Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara (both belonging to Reliance) were sent to Tihar jail on 21 April 2011.