Shahid Balwa of Etisalat DB arrested by CBI

NEW DELHI: Shahid Balwa, director of Etisalat DB Telecom, being investigated for his alleged role in the multi-crore 2G spectrum scam, was arrested in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Balwa is being brought to Delhi on transit remand, said CBI spokesperson Vinitha Thakur. Balwa has earlier been summoned by the CBI, but did not turn up citing a death in his family.

The agency has also sent a letter rogatory (LR) to Mauritius in connection with the scam, with specific questions on Swan Telecom, which was given 2G licence.

The letter rogatory has been sent to ascertain how Swan built the corpus to acquire 2G licence, for which it paid Rs 1,537 crore. It also seeks to know the companies incorporated in the licence and the sister companies of the group, a source said. "The LR has been sent to Mauritius and we are expecting a quick reply because we will be filing a chargesheet against A Raja and others by March 31," the source said.