2G scam: Laws long arm reaches the top

Soon afterward,the DMK brass went into a huddle at Chief Minister Karunanidhis residence in Chennai. The party complained that the chargesheeting of the CMs daughter had been unnecessarily publicised. Party sources said there was some suspicion about a deliberate design to leak the contents of the CBIs chargesheet even before it had been filed.

The sources said the DMK was unlikely to withdraw support to the UPA immediately,but agreed that the prevailing deep sense of unease could lead to friction with the Congress in future. The party leadership is scheduled to meet on Wednesday. We will weigh the pros and cons of the development. We have not yet decided anything. We will discuss all issues with an open mind, senior DMK leader T R Baalu said.

The CBI supplementary chargesheet which also named seven other accused including former telecom minister A Raja said Kanimozhi had been actively involved in the affairs of the Karunanidhi family-promoted Kalaignar TV,which received Rs 200 crore in alleged kickbacks from Swan Telecom during the grant of UAS licences.

Kanimozhi has been charged with criminal conspiracy and under Section 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to the CBI,she was involved not only as a 20 per cent stakeholder in the channel,but also lobbied with Raja in 2006-07 to get a licence for it from the Union information and broadcasting ministry. Raja also helped the channel get into the Tata Sky bouquet,the chargesheet said.

Accused Kanimozhi was also an initial director of the company (Kalaignar TV) and resigned only for the reason that her clearance from MHA was pending and could take time and delay the matter of launching the K TV channels. She was a stakeholder of Kalaignar TV and was an active brain behind its operation, the chargesheet said.

Kanimozhi was widely covered by Kaliagnar Seithigal (news) channel. She also actively pursued with the intermediaries and DMK headquarters the matter regarding re-appointment of Raja as telecom minister.

The chargesheet cited the Radia tapes,in which the DMK MP is heard strongly lobbying for the telecom portfolio for Raja,which,according to the CBI,implicates her in the larger conspiracy. The agency has furnished details of the Rs 200 crore money trail into the account of Kalaignar TV from Swan Telecom,routed through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables and Cineyug Films.

The chargesheet has spared Karunanidhis wife Dayaluammal.

Ammal is a 60 per cent stakeholder in K TV but the documents examined established that she does not have an active role in the affairs of the company. We have also examined the documents at Chennai ROC in which she is learnt to have stated that she had no role in the functioning of the company and the decision was to be taken by CEO Sharad Kumar on her behalf. She does not understand any other language other than Tamil and cannot understand the documentation of the firms, said a top CBI officer.

The supplementary chargesheet also mentioned the alleged suicide of Rajas close aide A M Sadhick Batcha,and the role played by his Green House Promoters on whose Board Rajas relatives held positions in the alleged attempt to transfer kickbacks.

Green House,according to the CBI,appointed a firm called Protiviti Consulting Pvt Ltd to strengthen accounting compliance and its management information system. At the same time,(Shahid Balwas) D B Realty also entered into an agreement with same consulting firm asking it to carry out due diligence of Green House in context of a proposed investment, the chargesheet said.

Officials said that Swan,which was controlled by Balwa,was looking to make investments in Green House as a channel to pay alleged kickbacks for the telecom licence. However after the CBI registered a case,the proposed investment plan was dropped,they said.