2G scam: Sanjay Chandra, AK Singh ‘discussed’ countering Srivastava’s deposition

NEW DELHI: The purported conversation between Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra, accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, and senior public prosecutor A K Singh largely revolves around the deposition of former senior official of department of telecom A K Srivastava, who is one of the star witnesses of the CBI in the case.

Even as the veracity of the leaked tape is being probed, Srivastava’s statement is damaging for Unitech as it was the former DoT official who claimed that ex-telecom minister A Raja manipulated the allocation of 2G spectrum and licences to favour Unitech.

If the alleged conversation is to be believed, then Singh has told Chandra about the points on which he should cross-examine Srivastava in court. In the taped conversation , Singh purportedly told Chandra not to cross-examine Srivastava directly on the point of the cut-off dates.

Srivastava, one of the seven star witnesses for the CBI in the 2G case, had said that R K Chandolia, Raja’s former personal secretary, asked him to stop accepting applications once Unitech had filed its application . Srivastava’s statement was recorded under Sec 164 CrPC, which treats the statement as proof that does not need any corroboration.

Srivastava, who held the crucial post of deputy director general (access service), said Chandolia had asked him on Sept 24, 2007 whether Unitech’s application had come in, adding that the real estate group was supposed to file it the same day.

“Chandolia told me that the application by Unitech group for UAS licence will be submitted today itself. Thereafter , I should stop receipt of further applications after today ,” Srivastava had said in his statement.