The CBI today conducted searches at the premises of former Telecom Minister A. Raja, his relatives and associates in different parts of Tamil Nadu.
The raids, which started this morning, were being held at Mr. Raja’s house and the office of a trust run by his family in his native Perambalur district, residences of his relatives and associates in Chennai, official sources said.
The sources said Mr. Raja’s close aide Sadiq Basha was picked up by the CBI officials in Chennai for questioning.
A report from Tiruchirappalli said besides the raids in Perambalur, CBI sleuths were also conducting searches in the houses of Mr. Raja’s brother and sister in Srirangam and Tiruvanaikaval in the district.
The raids come a day after Mr. Raja’s name surfaced in connection with an alleged attempt to influence a Madras High Court Judge in a criminal case. The court had suspended Chairman of Tamil Nadu Bar Council R K Chandramohan for allegedly attempting to influence the judge by taking Mr. Raja’s name last year, when he was Union Minister.
Mr. Raja had recently quit as Telecom Minister after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India quantified the losses caused in allocation of 2G spectrum at throwaway prices at around Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
BJP, Left and other Opposition parties have been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the issue and stalling proceedings in the Parliament.
