What is 2G Scam?

All you need to know

Updated Dec 21, 2017 | 17:18 IST | Times Now DigitalThe scam, suspected to cause the government a
loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, was one of the initial blows to the credibility of the UPA government

The 2G scam is one of the biggest scams in the countryPhoto Credit: BCCL The 2G scam is one of the
biggest scams in the country

https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/2g-spectrum-scam-special-cbi-court-verdict-new-delhi-
dmk-kanimozhi-a-raja-telecom-companies-spectrum-upa-manmohan-singh/180756

New Delhi: The verdict for the 2G scam, deemed as one of the biggest scams of independent India, was
pronounced on Thursday by a special court, almost after a six-year trial. In a surprising move, the court
acquitted all 17 accused in the case including former telecom minister A Raja and DMK's Kanimozhi.

Read: 2G Spectrum allocation scam case: Special court to pronounce verdict today

The scam, suspected to cause the exchequer a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, was one of the initial blows to
the credibility of the UPA government.

At the time of when the first murmurs about the scam were heard 10 years back, the Opposition
demanded an investigation in the matter after the then Comptroller General of India Vinod Rai in a
report in 2010, stated the tune of the loss.

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After the investigation in the case, the CBI filed a staggering 80,000-page charge sheet, naming 17
persons.
The tune of the scam is so big the Time Magazine called it the second biggest abuse of power after US
President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal.

The then Telecom Minister A Raja became the face of the scam, as he was accused of bending the rules
to favour a select group of telcos.

Some of the other prominent figures involved in the case were DMK chief Karunanidhi's daughter
Kanimozhi, the then telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, and Raja's private secretary RK Chandolia.

While Raja denied that he accepted any kickbacks in return for the favours he bestowed upon the group
of telcos, the Supreme Court had earlier agreed that he was "polluted", following which the licenses
issued by him were cancelled.

In 15 points:

The trial in 2G spectrum scam started six years ago in 2011 after the court had framed charges against 17
accused in the CBI's case for the offences which entails punishment ranging from six months in life
imprisonment.

One of the cases in which judgement was delivered on Wednesday involved Essar Group promoters Ravi
Kant Ruia and Anshuman Ruia, Loop Telecom promoters Kiran Khaitan, her husband I P Khaitan and Essar
Group Director (Strategy and Planning), Vikash Saraf, as accused. All of them have been acquitted.

In its charge sheet filed in April 2011 against Raja and others, CBI had alleged that there was a loss of Rs
30,984 crore to the exchequer in allocation of 122 licences for 2G spectrum which were scrapped by the
Supreme Court on February 2, 2012.
In the case involving promoters of Essar Group, Loop Telecom and Saraf, three companies -- Loop
Telecom Ltd, Loop Mobile India Ltd and Essar Tele Holding Ltd (ETHL) – were also named by the CBI in its
charge sheet.

While the court had charged them with the offence under section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) read with
section 420 (cheating) of IPC, substantial charge of cheating was made out against Saraf.

In the first case filed by the CBI, Raja and Kanimozhi faced trial along with former telecom secretary
Siddharth Behura, Raja's erstwhile private secretary R K Chandolia, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid
Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of Reliance
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) -- Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair.

Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV director
Sharad Kumar and Bollywood producer Karim Morani are also accused of it.

Besides them, three telecom firms -- Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL), Reliance Telecom Ltd and Unitech
Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd -- are also accused in the case.

All the accused facing trial in these cases have denied the allegations levelled against them by the CBI
and the ED.

The CBI had named them in its charge sheet on December 12, 2011, alleging they had cheated the
Department of Telecommunication by using Loop Telecom as a "front" to secure 2G licences in 2008.

Later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a charge sheet against Raja, Kanimozhi and others for
alleged money laundering.

The ED had listed 19 accused in its charge sheet in April 2014, including Raja, Kanimozhi, Shahid Balwa,
Vinod Goenka, Asif Balwa, Rajiv Aggarwal, Karim Morani, P Amirtham and Sharad Kumar in connection
with the case.
In its charge sheet, the ED had also named DMK supremo M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal as an
accused in the case in which it had alleged that Rs 200 crore was paid by STPL promoters to DMK-run
Kalaignar TV.

In its final report, the ED had named 10 individuals and nine companies as accused and listed them in
the charge sheet for the offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Besides Kalaignar TV, the other companies accused in the case are STPL (now Etisalat DB Telecom (P)
Ltd), Kusegaon Realty (P) Ltd, Cineyug Media & Entertainment (P) Ltd, Dynamix Realty, Eversmile
Construction Company (P) Ltd, Conwood Construction & Developers (P) Ltd, DB Realty Ltd and Mystical
Construction (P) Ltd (earlier known as Nihar Constructions (P)

(With inputs from PTI)

2G scam A Raja CAG CBI Department Of Telecommunication Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Manmohan
Singh New Delhi UPA

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Normalise ties with India, Pakistan Army Chief tells government

Updated Dec 21, 2017 | 09:30 IST | Times Now Digital In a rather surprising gesture, Pakistan's Army
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Pakistan Army Chief General BajwaPhoto Credit: AFP Pakistan Army Chief General Bajwa

https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/normalise-ties-with-india-pakistan-army-chief-tells-
government/180751
New Delhi: In a rather surprising gesture, Pakistan's Army chief has told the government to better ties
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