CBI implicates Kanimozhi, four others in 2G scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed charges against DMK MP and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi and four others, as co-accused in the second generation (2G) spectrum scam.

The CBI named Sharad Kumar of Kalaignar TV, Karim Morani of Cineyug Films, and Asif Balwa and Rajiv B Agarwal of Kusegaon Realty as co accused in the supplementary chargesheet.

However, Dayalu Ammal, wife of Karunanidhi and stepmother of Kanimozhi, does not figure in the charges filed today.

The CBI had originally named former communications minister A Raja, his personal aide R K Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa as conspirators in the 2G spectrum scam that is estimated to have caused the government a loss of over Rs1,75,000 crore.

The names of five corporate executives, including Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Sanjay Chandra of Unitech and three Anil Ambani Group officials, namely, Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara, were later added to the list, taking the number of arrests in the 2G spectrum allocation scam to nine.

Raja, his aide and the telecom secretary face charges for their roles in awarding radio spectrum for second generation telecom services to private sector firms in a fraudulent manner.

Raja, his aide and officials from the Department of Telecom (DoT) face charges for their roles in awarding radio frequency. Raja also faces forgery charges, while Chandolia and Behura have been accused of misusing their official positions.

The latest additions take the list of people implicated in the 2G spectrum scam to 14, nine of whom are in judicial custody.