The CBI on Wednesday registered eight more preliminary enquiries (PEs)
in connection with issues related to intercepted phone calls of
lobbyist Niira Radia against former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu
Koda, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and others in separate cases.
A PE looking into alleged irregularities in the
allotment of iron ore mines at Ankua, Singhbhum district of Jharkhand
to Tata steel has been initiated, CBI sources said, adding Mr. Koda,
who is out on bail in a corruption case, and unknown officials of
Jharkhand government have been named as accused.
Tata Steel spokesperson said it was too early to respond.
The sources said another PE has been registered against
the then Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) V K Sibal, RIL and
other unknown persons in connection with alleged favours shown by the
DGH to RIL and the quid-pro-quo.
Mr. Sibal did not respond to messages seeking his reaction. The RIL spokesperson declined to comment.
A PE has also been started in connection with alleged
working of touts and middlemen and kickbacks in the aviation sector in
against Radia, Ramesh Nambiar, a former Air India official, Deepak
Talwar and unknown officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Another PE has also been initiated against Ms. Radia into alleged market manipulation and hammering of stocks of Unitech.
Ms. Radia’s spokesperson also declined to comment.
Unitech spokesperson said, “We are pleased to learn
that Supreme Court has ordered a CBI enquiry into hammering of stock of
Unitech. In October 2008, widespread malicious rumours were being
spread about the financial health of our company, possibly by the bear
cartels or market operators who had vested interest in making short
term gains.”
“We are thankful to the Court for ordering enquiry now
into this matter which has caused great monetary as well as reputation
loss to us,” the Unitech spokesperson said.
The CBI has also started a probe into the matter
related to supply of low floor buses by Tata Motors to Government of
Tamil Nadu under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
(JNNURM) scheme, the CBI sources said.
“The matter is sub-judice. Hence we cannot comment on
any specifics. Suffice it to say, we will offer full cooperation in any
inquiry by any government agency,” Tata Motors spokesperson has said.
A Chartered Accountant Rajiv Gupta, unknown public
servants and private persons have been named in a PE for alleged
criminal misconduct in respect of surveys and raids conducted by Income
Tax department, the sources said.
Another enquiry related to payment of illegal
gratification paid to IT officials to get the works done has also been
initiated against unknown public servants and private persons, they
said.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi had
identified 23 issues which were framed by an apex court-appointed team
on the analysis of the tapped conversations of Ms. Radia with
bureaucrats, politicians, corporate tycoons and scribes. It then
ordered a CBI probe into 14 issues last week.
The bench said, “The subjects mentioned...are prima
facie indicative of deep rooted malaise in the system of which
advantage has been taken by private enterprises in
collaboration/connivance with the Government officers and others.
“The conversations between Niira Radia and her
associates with various persons suggests that unscrupulous elements
have used corrupt means to secure favours from the Government officers,
who appear to have acted for extraneous considerations”.
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