CBI gets transit remand of Shahid Balwa

MUMBAI, INDIA: A Mumbai court on Wednesday granted a two-day transit remand of Shahid Balwa - the promoter of Swan Telecom - to the CBI in the 2G spectrum scam, an official said.

Balwa, who was arrested here late Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), was presented before the court Wednesday morning and will be taken to New Delhi later in the day for further investigations.

In its remand application, the CBI said Balwa's company, which allegedly got favours in 2G spectrum allocation, had caused a loss to the national exchequer of over Rs.22,000 crore.

Balwa became the fourth person - and the first who is not a government official - to be arrested in the 2G spectrum. Former communications minister A. Raja and two of his aides are also under arrest in connection with the scam.

The scam relates to irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum to telecom companies. Swan Telecom is one of the companies that allegedly benefited from 2G allocation. It was part of Mumbai-based DB Realty, which has since then become Etisalat DB.