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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Following SC directive, CBI begins inquiries in Radia case
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Following SC directive, CBI begins inquiries in Radia case

CBI to look into grant of spectrum to Unitech, commissions Bhel paid to pass Bills, fudging of RCom's subscribers

A file photo of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia. Also under probe is a conversation between former Trai chief Pradip Baijal and Radia on his appointment to the Natural Gas Regulatory Board. Photo: PTIPremium
A file photo of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia. Also under probe is a conversation between former Trai chief Pradip Baijal and Radia on his appointment to the Natural Gas Regulatory Board. Photo: PTI

Complying with the Supreme Court’s directive, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday registered preliminary inquiries into four issues drawn from the controversial contents of the transcripts of tapped conversations between lobbyist Niira Radia and bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and journalists.

On 7 October, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to investigate 14 specific issues and submit their findings to the apex court in two months.

It did so after scrutinizing the investigation of an expert group that reviewed the transcripts and found eight instances of government contracts being awarded on the basis of possible collusion.

According to a statement issued by the CBI, the four issues into which investigations have been initiated include the grant of spectrum to Unitech Ltd, payment of commission by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd for passage of Bills and a conversation between Pradip Baijal, former chief of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), and Radia on his appointment as chairman of the pipeline advisory committee of the Natural Gas Regulatory Board to allegedly favour Reliance Industries Ltd.

Commenting on the development, Baijal said, “It is their (CBI) right to start an inquiry. No one has contacted me yet. let them investigate. Obviously, they don’t know that I resigned whereas the conversation might have been only about the conflict of interest. There are unanswered questions then."

He further added, “I do not remember whether it was my communication with Ms. Radia or someone else spoke to her and she must have said something about conflict of interest. What is being alleged is a 2009 conversation, it’s 2013. There was a conversation reported about conflict of interest."

Reliance Industries Ltd was being advised by Radia, who was also the promoter of consulting firm Noesis Strategic Consulting, where Baijal joined after retired as the telecom regulator. The apex court’s order, implying a conflict of interest, notes that Radia’s calls show that she “provided consultancy to ... M/s Unitech Ltd, and M/s Reliance Industries Ltd", as submitted by the CBI in its report.

The CBI will also look into alleged fudging of subscriber numbers by Reliance Communications Ltd to avail of additional spectrum which is being considered to have caused a notional loss to the exchequer.

“We welcome the independent time-bound enquiries by the CBI, monitored by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, which will clearly establish our bona fides, and once and for all prove beyond doubt that we have been the unfortunate victims of a mischievous campaign of calumny and vilification conducted at the behest of our unscrupulous corporate rivals over the past five years," Reliance Communications said in a statement

Unitech and Bhel could not be reached for comments.

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Published: 22 Oct 2013, 11:38 PM IST
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