2G scam: CBI grills ex-TRAI chief

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday questioned former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chief Pradeep Baijal in the 2G spectrum allocation case, an agency official said.

"He (Baijal) was questioned in the afternoon at CBI headquarters and cooperated in the investigation," the official said.

A former Indian Administrative Service officer, Baijal was disinvestment secretary between 1999 and 2003 and headed the telecom regulator between 2004 and 2008. He joined corporate lobbyist Niira Radia's firm in 2009 after his retirement.

Baijal had allegedly written a letter to the then disinvestment minister Arun Shourie suggesting him to go ahead with first-come-first-served policy for allocation of licences.

He allegedly wrote a personal letter in 2003 to clarify statutory guidelines, prompting the issue of 26 licenses, of which 12 went to the Tatas.

On Monday CBI had also questioned former telecom minister A Raja, former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura and a private telecom firm executive Gautam Doshi.