New Delhi, Apr 4: The CBI today secured for two more days custody of Kusegaon executive Rajiv Agarwal, arrested in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, from a Delhi court to probe the alleged flow of Rs 200 crore to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd.
Agarwal, who is associated with partnership firm of DB Realty—promoted by Shahid Usman Balwa, is accused of playing a pivotal role in the flow of money to Kalaignar TV in which Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's wife Dayaluammal has 60 per cent stake.
The DMK chief's daughter and Rajya Sabha MP M Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, the Managing Director, have 20 per cent share each in the channel.
Agarwal, Director of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, a DB group company, was produced before the special court, constituted by the Supreme Court to deal with the 2G scam cases, after expiry of his three-day CBI custody. Special Judge O P Saini extended Agarwal's CBI custody till April 6 accepting the agency's submission that directors of Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd, through which Rs 200 crores were allegedly transferred to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, would join the probe soon and that they need to be confronted. “It is the case of CBI that the accused is required to be confronted with directors of Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd as they had not attended the investigation earlier and as such, Rajiv Agrawal and those directors could not be confronted with each other earlier.
“Accordingly, considering the facts of the case and need of confrontation of accused with other suspects/persons and documents and his further custodial interrogation, accused is remanded to further police custody till April 6,” the court said.
CBI prosecutor Akhilesh said that Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd entered into agreement on January 27, 2010 to justify some “malicious” deals.
The agency said Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd received a sum of Rs 200 crores from Kusegaon during the period between December 23, 2008 to August 7, 2009. “Amount of Rs 200 crores had been transferred between December 2008 to August 2009 and we have the records with us which show that the accused entered into an agreement later on to justify the transaction,” the CBI said. He added that the accused had also not disclosed the facts under which “heavy cash was sent to Green House Promoters Pvt Ltd.”
Sadiq Batch, a close aide of former telecom minister A Raja and Director of Green House Promoters Pvt Ltd, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Chennai last month.
Advocate Vijay Agrawal, appearing for Rajiv Agarwal, opposed the agency's plea for extension of remand saying that his client had already been in CBI custody for the last six days and nothing remains to be disclosed now. He alleged that Agarwal is being “unfairly targeted” as other accused in the case, like Unitech Pvt Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra and officials of the Reliance Telecom Company, have not been arrested till date.
“The CBI has not arrested Sanjay Chandra and others despite naming them in its charge sheet. The CBI cannot have a different scale for different persons,” Agrawal said. He said that CBI has not even said in its charge sheet that how much amount was paid by others accused in the case to Raja, who has been chargesheeted by the CBI and is presently under judicial custody in Tihar Jail here. Agarwal was arrested along with Asif Balwa, a cousin of Swan Telecom Promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, who has been chargesheeted in the 2G case, on March 29 after CBI had conducted searches at the premises of Dynamic Realty, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd and Cineyug films Pvt Ltd in Mumbai.
Agarwal and Asif were directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd. Asif was also Director of DB Realty Pvt Ltd ,a partner of Dynamic Realty, and is presently in judicial custody.
Agarwal and Asif have not been named in the first charge sheet filed by the CBI on April 2. The agency in its first charge sheet alleged that Raja, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's personal secretary R K Chandolia, Shahid Usman Balwa and Sanjay Chandra entered into a conspiracy for manipulating the procedure for allocation of spectrum with the aim of favouring companies like Swan Telecom and Unitech Group.
Others named in the charge sheet include Vinod Goenka, a Director of Mumbai-based DB Realty, which was also the promoter of Etisalat DB, Sanjay Chandra, Managing Director of Gurgaon-based real estate company Unitech and Unitech Wireless(Tamil Nadu) Pvt Ltd and Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara, Group Managing Director and two Senior Vice Presidents of Mumbai-based Reliance Telecom Company. PTI
