Cross examination of Raja's ex-aide concludes

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Aseervartham Achary, ex-aide of jailed former communications minister A. Raja, has denied that he was tutored by the CBI before appearing as a witness in a special court here. His cross-examination by the defence concluded on  Thursday.

He said that it was wrong to suggest that he remembered only those facts fed to him by the CBI.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini disallowed a few questions raised by accused Asif Balwa's counsel Shri Kant Shivade, terming them irrelevant.

Judge Saini said: "If such questions are put any further, the questions shall be disallowed with heavy cost."

Shivade asked Achary if he had he taken any drugs which had resulted in loss of memory. "Is this lapse of memory chronic or temporary or recently acquired," he asked.

The court disallowed Shivade's question to Achary on how many bank accounts he held.

Achary refuted the suggestion of defence counsel that he deliberately feigned ignorance about other facts or pleaded ignorance.

The witness refuted the suggestion that there were incriminating material against him in the audio tapes that contained his conversation with corporate lobbyist Niira Radia.

He denied that a pending enquiry into his disproportionate assets was the reason for becoming a witness in the case.

Testifying as a CBI witness, Achary has so far been cross examined by accused including DB Realty's Vinod Goenka, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables' Asif Balwa, Unitech's Sanjay Chandra and Kalaignar TV's Sharad Kumar.

According to the government auditor, the 2G scam allegedly masterminded by Raja pertained to a biased distribution of mobile airwaves and operating licences, in lieu of kickbacks, to telecom firms that could have cost the treasury up to Rs.1.76 lakh crore in lost revenue.

Nineteen individuals and six companies are accused in the case. Except for Raja and Behura, all other arrested accused have been released on bail.