Raja ka band baaja

Ex-telecom minister was shocked out of his wits when the CBI arrested him after questioning session

When former telecom minister A Raja walked into the Central Bureau of Investigation's headquarters on Wednesday to answer agency's fourth round of questioning, he might have never anticipated that he will be taken into the custody.


In the net:u00a0 The CBI will produce Raja in court on Thursday. File pic

The CBI played it smart surprising everyone, including the ex-minister himself, with their move. Sources in the CBI said that they wanted to arrest Raja on Monday itself but then postponed it as they had to wait for clearance from concerned authorities. On Wednesday, they had ostensibly planned to nab him without creating much of flutter.

"Arresting him from his residence would have been difficult for us. So he was called for questioning at the CBI headquarters first and then told at about 4 pm that he had been arrested," the sources said. Besides Raja, former Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura and Raja's Personal Secretary R K Chandolia were also arrested. However, they were picked up from their houses.

Sources said that in the beginning, it was evident from Raja's expressions that he had been brought to the headquarters only for questioning. "But as time went by, he began to realise that it was something more than just questioning and when he was told that he has been arrested, he was simply shocked," the sources added, refusing to give further details about ex-minister's state of mind at that time.u00a0u00a0

After Raja was arrested, when MiD DAY called up at his residence, one of his family members said that the whole family was in a state of shock and they had never anticipated that Raja would be tricked by the CBI in such a way.

"We are not in a position to talk to anyone. He started the day as he normally does and then got ready to attend the CBI questioning. However, at about 4 pm we were told that he has been arrested," said the family member.

Raja was kept at CBI headquarters along with a doctor through the night and will be produced in Patiala House court today, sources said. Learning from their past experiences, the CBI this time had ensured the presence of a doctor while Raja was being grilled. During previous sessions of questioning, Raja's health had deteriorated and he had called up his own doctor.

The former Telecom minister has been booked under Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy for alleged manipulations in procedures regarding allocation of 2G Spectrum to favour some companies. Raja arrest along with two other officials came just a week before CBI has to file its final probe report in the Supreme Court.

Former Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura, who was also held, is a 1973 batch IAS officer of UP cadre and Raja's Personal Secretary R K Chandolia, is a 1984 Indian Economic Service officer.

The arrest of 47-year-old Raja, the Dalit face of DMK, a crucial ally of the Congress at the Centre, comes almost two months after his resignation as minister. His resignation had also come in the wake of Opposition protest in Parliament over his continuance in office and the Supreme Court breathing down the government's neck over investigations in the scam.

Even Comptroller and Auditor General of India's report had nailed him where it was stated that Raja's allocation of Spectrum in 2007-08 had led to the presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.
The CBI had filed a case against unknown officials of Department of Telecom in October 2009 and conducted searches in the Ministry but focused on Raja only after his resignation.