Former Union Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja Arrested
February 3rd, 2011 - 6:54 pm ICT by GDBy Gina Gomez
Feb 3, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Union Communications and Information Technology Minister of India A. Raja has been arrested on Wednesday along with two officers who worked under him. CBI officials reported that A. Raja is accused of selling phone licenses on “first come first serve” basis instead of auctioning them. The media outlets reported that The Central Bureau of Investigation produced A. Raja and his associates R K Chandolia and Siddharth Behura in Patiala House Courts on Thursday afternoon.
The CBI officers sought five days of custody for the former telecommunication minister and his two aides for interrogation. CBI judge O P Saini granted 10 minutes private conversation with A. Raja. CBI accused the former telecom minister did not follow the right procedure to grant 2G license to the companies and hence the government made an estimated $40 billion loss in their revenue. The CBI officials released an official statement where it was stated that they have arrested A. Raja and his two aides based on the “facts disclosed” in the investigations regarding the role they played in the allocation of Unified Access Services Licenses and Spectrum to few companies “ahead of others” instead of auctioning them. CBI statement read that A.Raja and his two former aides violated the “guidelines and procedures” by doing so.
A.Raja is an active member of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party and the spokesperson of the political party told a reputed media outlet that the arrest of their member would not hamper their relations with Indian National Congress. On the other hand, the media outlets reported that the Supreme Court of India has asked the Enforcement Directorate and CBI to submit the status report of the investigations by February 10. A. Raja was forced to resign from his post after the law enforcement officials found out that he sold the 2G licenses at a much lower price.
- Raja, key accused in 2G spectrum case presented in court - Apr 13, 2011
- Govt. has made itself a 'laughing stock', says Jayalalithaa on Raja's arrest - Feb 03, 2011
- Permission sought for fresh charges against 2G accused - Sep 26, 2011
- 2G: Apex court grants bail to Behura (Lead) - May 09, 2012
- 2G: Apex court gives CBI time to reply on Chandolia's appeal (Second Lead) - Feb 24, 2012
- CBI opposes Behura bail plea - Jul 06, 2011
- CBI arrests A. Raja (Timeline) - Feb 02, 2011
- Timeline of 2G spectrum case - May 20, 2011
- 2G scam case: Chandolia gets bail (Lead) - Dec 01, 2011
- Court extends A. Raja's CBI custody - Feb 08, 2011
- Bail pleas of co-accused in 2G spectrum case opposed (Lead) - Apr 13, 2011
- Judicial custody for five co-accused in 2G telecom spectrum case - Apr 20, 2011
- 2G case: Delhi High Court stays Chandolia's bail (Second Lead) - Dec 02, 2011
- 2G scam: Is CBI selective in opposing bail pleas? - Apr 09, 2012
- Court directs Tihar officials to give proper food to Raja - Apr 13, 2011
Tags: access services, active member, cbi officers, cbi officials, central bureau of investigation, enforcement directorate, gina gomez, indian national congress, information technology minister, interrogation, law enforcement officials, media outlets, patiala, private conversation, raja, saini, siddharth, supreme court of india, thursday afternoon, union communications