‘Tainted’ BSNL-Wimax deal sparks CBI raids

CHENNAI: Offi cials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today conducted raids in the city in connection with the controversial Wimax deal between the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Starnet Communications during the tenure of tainted Former Union Minister A Raja. Starnet was said to be owned by close aides of Raja and the Wimax deal was given to it allegedly at the instance of the Former Telecom Minister despite the fi rm not fulfi lling certain eligibility norms.The raids began at around 0900 hrs and four to fi ve teams were involved in the operations. The searches were being conducted at various offi ces of BSNL in the city, sources said. CBI sources said the raids were part of the efforts ofthe investigating agency to gather more evidence after theCBI had registered a preliminary inquiry in 2011 following allegations of discrepancies in the deal. The FIR was registered following charges that Former Telecom Minister A Raja had allegedly exerted pressure on the BSNL to ink a pact with Starnet to procure the WiMax technology. Senior BSNL offi cials, who were said to be part of the controversial deal, have come under the CBI scanner, the sources said. However, Raja, allegedly at whose instance the pact came through, was not named as accused in the new FIR. Raja has been cited as the key accused in the multicrore 2G scam and lodged in Tihar Jail for the last ten months.