CBI likely to question Raja today

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to interrogate former telecom minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum case on Friday. The agency is expected to name Raja in the chargesheet to be filed shortly, a top CBI official told ET on condition of anonymity.

“We are likely to issue summons to Raja on Friday. This is a natural extension of the raids we carried out on Wednesday,” the official said. The agency is likely to question Raja on his links with several companies floated by his relatives and his relationship with owners of telcos that benefited from allocation of airwaves at prices below market levels.

CBI had filed a first information report last year which accused unknown persons of having caused a loss to the government.

A chargesheet is filed at the end of an investigation.

The investigators have also found what the official described as Raja’s “official notesheets” containing confidential information relating to spectrum allocation from the office of one of the firms that was a beneficiary of the minister's policies.

The notings of his private secretary RK Chandolia who played a key role in the spectrum allocation have also been seized. The CBI is investigating two press releases issued early in January, 2008, which it believes lie at the heart of the scam.

One said that only applications for mobile permits submitted before 25 September 2007, would be eligible for spectrum. Another said whoever deposits the fee first would get the license first.

The CBI official said some companies had prior knowledge of these press releases.

In the FIR filed last year, the agency had alleged that certain DoT officials "selectively leaked" announcements resulting in some applicants who were privy to this information gaining undue advantage. Chandolia and Raja's business partner Sadhick Batcha were later taken by CBI for questioning.