2G scam probe CBI interrogates Videocon’s dhoots

Brothers quizzed for over seven hours at investigating agency's headquarters in Delhi

2G scam probe CBI interrogates Videocon's dhoots

Brothers quizzed for over seven hours at investigating agency's headquarters in Delhi

On Monday it was the turn of Venugopal Dhoot and Rajkumar Dhoot. The CBI questioned the Videocon Group Chairman and the Rajya Sabha MP respectively in connection with the probe into allocation of 2G spectrum in 2008.

Probe on: The CBI arrested former telecom minister A Raja and Shahid
Balwa in connection with the spectrum scam. File pic

The duo was called to the CBI headquarters yesterday afternoon and questioned for over seven hours and confronted with documents of changing their share capital from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 150 crore, official sources said.

Sources said that statement of their Company Secretary, submitted to the Department of Telecom, claiming change in the share capital, was also shown to them and asked to explain the minutes of the meeting of an extra-ordinary general body of the company held on August 27, 2007.

The questioning of the duo was part of the CBI questioning all the heads of nine companies which were allocated spectrum in 2008. Videocon was allocated a start-up spectrum of 4.4 MHz in all circles except Delhi. The agency so far has questioned top brass of various telecom companies, including Reliance Infocomm Chairman Anil Ambani, Essar CEO Prashant Ruia and Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra.

The Comptroller and Auditor General in its report had alleged that Datacom Solutions, which later changed to Videocon Telecommunications, while submitting its application for 22 licences on August 28, 2007, had "made a false claim of the paid-up capital of Rs 150 crore through company secretary although documents attached with indicated that the authorised share capital of the company as Rs 1 lakh only".

R1.75 lakh cr
Loss incurred by the government due to the 2G scam

Announcement on JCP
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to announce the setting up of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the 2G spectrum scam on Tuesday. Manmohan Singh will make a statement in the Lok Sabha in this regard soon after the introduction of the new ministers in his cabinet, sources said here Monday.
A motion for constituting the JPC will be moved on Thursday by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal after the prime minister replies to the motion of thanks to the president's address to the joint sitting of parliament, following which it would be sent to the Rajya Sabha for concurrence, sources said. The government had last week agreed to the demand of the opposition to form the JPC to investigate the 2G spectrum scam about which the government auditors had said the presumptive loss was worth Rs 1.75 lakh crore.