People will feel Happy if 2G Spectrum culprits were arrested.

People will feel Happy if 2G Spectrum culprits were arrested.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 15-12-2010 Wednesday stepped up its probe into the 2G scam, raiding the premises, as part of a nationwide exercise that also covered family members and alleged business associates of sacked telecom minister A Raja, lobbyist Niira Radia and former Trai chairman Pradip Baijal.


Raids on Father Jegath Gaspar Raj who runs a NGO, Tamil Maiyam, patronised by Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK boss M Karunanidhi, came as a surprise and invested the CBI’s probe with an earnestness that it so far seemed to lack. Also raided was A Kamaraj, associate editor of Tamil magazine Nakeeran, who is considered close to the DMK leadership.


There were also reports of the agency conducting searches on Ratnam, an auditor who is said to be a confidante of Rajathi Ammal, Kanimozhi’s mother and Karunanidhi’s third wife, Ratnam features in the one of the Radia tapes, where Rajathi Ammal speaks about an unfulfilled promise that the Tata group had made through Radia. The CBI, however, refused to confirm that its team had questioned Ratnam.


CBI spokesperson Binita Thakur said that “incriminating” documents and electronic evidence of fund transfers were seized during the raids, spread over 34 premises in Delhi, Chennai, Tiruchi and the Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu.


Former Minister Raja was the thread that ran through raids both in Delhi and Chennai. His siblings, chartered accountant, Chennai-based businessmen Alok Jain alias Bobby and Mahesh Jain, considered close to him, were among those covered.


As CBI sleuths fanned out across the state to raid more than 20 places as part of its 2G spectrum scam investigation, it first appeared to be a random exercise to scan people close to Raja. A closer look, however, reveals that though Raja is at the centre of it all, many of the others raided are inter-linked.


Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday 15-12-2010 approached a CBI court in Tis Hazari, seeking Raja’s prosecution and his appointment as public prosecutor in the case.


When Government is arresting menial and clerical staff for petty bribe cases, it is not known why they fear to arrest erratic officials and ministers. People will feel happy only when defaulters are punished.