Raja second ex-minister to be arrested in 15 years
February 3rd, 2011 - 12:28 am ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) Disgraced former communications minister A. Raja is the second central ex-minister, after Sukh Ram, to be arrested in the past 15 years. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren was the only serving minister to be held during this period.Raja, who quit as communications minister Nov 14 last year, was arrested Wednesday for corruption in the 2008 2G spectrum auction, which caused a notional loss of several billion rupees to the government.
Sukh Ram, who served as communications minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao ministry, was arrested Aug 18, 1996, when he was a MP. He was arrested for irregularities in awarding telecom contracts during his earlier stint in the union cabinet.
He was sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment 13 years later and was slapped with a fine of Rs.2 lakh Feb 25, 2009, by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in New Delhi.
The trial court also ordered the forfeiture of his assets worth Rs.4.25 crore. The case is still pending in the Delhi High Court after Sukh Ram appealed against the lower court’s verdict.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren, the then union coal minister, was arrested Nov 28, 2006, after a trial court in Delhi convicted him for the murder of his former private secretary Sashinath Jha in May 1994.
Soren, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court, was later acquitted by the Delhi High Court in 2007. He went on to become the chief minister of Jharkhand in 2008.
- Ex-minister Raja's arrest not first in telecom ministry - Feb 02, 2011
- I will appeal to higher court: Sukh Ram - Nov 19, 2011
- Kishenji's death not good for country: Shibu Soren - Dec 02, 2011
- Sukh Ram's surrender put off by court till Friday (Third Lead) - Jan 05, 2012
- Court issues notice to CBI on Sukh Ram's plea - Nov 25, 2011
- High court grants bail to Sukh Ram (Lead) - Nov 28, 2011
- Sukh Ram challenges conviction, sentence in graft case (Lead) - Nov 23, 2011
- Sukh Ram attacked outside court - Nov 19, 2011
- Sukh Ram contests conviction, CBI asked to respond (Lead) - Nov 25, 2011
- Sukh Ram's three-year jail term upheld in graft case (Lead) - Dec 21, 2011
- Five years jail for Sukh Ram in third graft conviction - Nov 19, 2011
- Jharkhand deputy chief minister gets bail - May 20, 2011
- Soren cleared in third murder case, is a relieved man (Second Lead) - Jun 15, 2010
- JMM fields Saneev Kumar for Rajya Sabha - Apr 17, 2012
- Soren acquitted in third murder case, is a relieved man (Lead) - Jun 15, 2010
Tags: 2g, cbi, central bureau of investigation, chief minister, delhi high court, feb 2, forfeiture, irregularities, jha, life imprisonment, p v narasimha rao, private secretary, rigorous imprisonment, rs 2, rupees, shibu soren, spectrum auction, stint, trial court, union cabinet