CBI grills Arun Shourie over 2G allocations

The Central Bureau of Investigation today questioned former telecom minister Arun Shourie as part of its ongoing investigation into the 2G spectrum scam to find out possible criminal aspects and irregularities in the telecom policy since 2001.

Shourie appeared before the CBI to explain his role in awarding licenses on a 'first come, first served' basis and other crucial policy decisions taken during his term.

Shourie had held the telecom portfolio between January 2003 and May 2004 in the BJP-led NDA government.

Earlier this month, Shourie had been approached by the CBI, asking him to appear before it in connection with the preliminary enquiry (PE) registered by the agency following a direction from the Supreme Court.

Officials said that the PE was registered against "unknown persons" with an aim to ascertain whether the first come, first served provision passed by the then cabinet led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was followed or not.

Last year the Supreme Court had directed the agency to widen the scope of its investigation to cover the grant of licenses by both the NDA and the UPA regimes between 2001 and 2007 and submit a report.