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The Chief Executive Officer of Loop Telecom, Mr Sandip Basu, and former CEO of Tata Teleservices Ltd, Mr Anil Sardana, were today questioned by CBI in connection with its probe in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
CBI sources said the duo were asked to clarify deals struck by their respective organisations with the government to get telecom technology licences and stakes in other telecom companies which have got licences in their names.
Besides, both were also quizzed by the CBI in connection with their firms' alleged linkages with Unitech, one of the two companies which have been mentioned in the FIR filed by the agency on October 21, 2009, they said.
While Mr Sardana appeared before the CBI sleuths for the first time, Mr Basu had been called for the fourth time in the last fortnight, sources said.
Loop had got licences for 21 circles when the spectrum was allocated during the first stint of jailed former Telecom Minister Mr A. Raja between September 2007 and January 2008.
While Tata Teleservices Ltd was the only operator to have applied for dual technology licence after the policy was announced, but later loaned it to Unitech. CBI officials are ascertaining the role of Unitech and TTSL officials in the deal.
The charges against Unitech, according to CBI's FIR, was that it offloaded over 60 per cent of its stake to Telenor and earned a profit of 267 per cent even before the service roll-out.
Former Telecom Minister Mr Arun Shourie was also questioned by the CBI in connection with the case during the day. Mr Shourie had held the telecom portfolio between January 2003 and May 2004 in the NDA regime.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had in its report presumed losses to the tune of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in distributing spectrum to certain telecom firms due to certain procedural lapses.
CBI officials yesterday questioned Mr R. Krishna Kumar and Mr Sanjay B. Ugale, Chairman and Managing Director, respectively, of Tata Realty and Infrastructure, Mr Dilip Modi, Managing Director, Spice Telecom; Mr S. Sarvana, Director; and Mr V. Srinivasan, Group Chief Executive Officer of Siva Group of Companies; Mr Shamik Das, CEO, S Tel; and Mr Basu for over four hours.
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