2G scam: CBI quizzes top telecom firm officials

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Top brass of India's telecom industry were questioned on Thursday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the 2G spectrum allocation scam, agency officials said.

Spice Mobile managing director Dilip Modi, S Tel director Shiva Shankaran and CEO Shamik Das, Tata Realty and Infrastructure chairman and Tata Sons board member Krishna Kumar, Tata Realty and Infrastructure CEO Sanjay Ubale, Siva group of companies (of which S Tel is part) CEO V. Sreenivas, and Loop Telecom CEO Sandip Basu were quizzed by the agency, an official said.

"They arrived at our headquarters at around 10.30 a.m. and were questioned over the 2G scam. They have left our premises now," the official said, at around 7 p.m.

Former telecom minister A. Raja along with former telecom secretary Siddarth Behura and Raja's former personal secretary R.K. Chandolia were arrested February 2 and DB Realty managing director Shahid Usman Balwa February 18 for their suspected role in the allocation of airwaves for second generation (2G) phone services, billed as one of the country's biggest corruption scandals.

According to the investigative agency, the allocation of spectrum resulted in a loss of Rs. 22,000 crore to the exchequer. However, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has pegged the loss at Rs.1.76 lakh crore.

Giving in to the opposition pressure, the government February 22 announced the setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe alleged irregularities into the allotment of 2G spectrum.