CBI searches on at 19 places, including telecom firms

CBI-SPECTRUM

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) The Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) Friday searched offices of the Indian
Telecom Ministry for the second day and also visited a number
of private operators in connection with alleged irregularities
in allocation of spectrum to new operators.

According to sources in the CBI, the agency searched a
total of 19 premises, including offices of 10 telecom
companies and some of the offices of the DoT.
They, however, declined to name the telecom firms.
Reacting to the CBI action, Indian Telecom Minister A
Raja had said Thursday that he had followed all the procedures
laid down by telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) and all decisions were taken after consultation
with the Prime Minister.
He had also ruled out stepping down from the Indian
Cabinet, saying nowhere the CBI has pointed to the minister's
involvement.
"All decisions on spectrum licensing have been taken in
accordance with procedures laid down by Trai and in
consultation with the Prime Minister," he had said.
CBI has registered a case against unknown officials of
Department of Telecom (DoT) and unknown private persons and
companies under the charge of criminal conspiracy and
corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Ever since the licences were issued last year, there has
been widespread criticism that there could have been loss of
thousands of crores to the exchequer on account of
irregularities. PTI SKL
ANU


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