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Petition wants Tata, Radia to be named accused in 2G case

New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) A petition before a special court that is hearing the second generation (2G) telecom spectrum case has asked for directions to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to name industrialist Ratan Tata and lobyist Nira Radia as accused.

 
 Lawyer Dharmendra Pandey filed the petition as an intervener in the case with Judge O.P. Saini, who is presiding over the special court. The judge fixed the matter for further hearing May 2.
 
 "The CBI had registered the case in the spectrums matter in 2009 itself but there was no progress till the time the alleged phone taps among several personalities were published and same were put on the internet," the application said.
 
 The wire taps included conversations between Tata and Radia, it said, adding instead of making the duo witnesses, they should be made co-accused.
 
 Based on the transcripts of the wire taps that were published in a section of the media, the petition further alleged that Radia used her position and power in the distribution of portfolios in the council of the ministers.
 
 Thursday's petition came a day after a counsel for one of the accused told the special court that Tata Teleservices should have been named co-accused in the spectrum case and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh listed as a witness.
 
 Majid Memon and Vijay Agarwal, the advocates for Shahid Usman Balwa, the promoter of Swan Telecom, said this while arguing before Judge Saini, who is presiding over the special court.
 
 The premier investigative agency had first named four people accused in the case -- former telecom minister A. Raja, his personal aide R.K. Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa.
 
 Then five more people were added to the list: Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Sanjay Chandra of Unitech and three officials of Anil Ambani Group -- Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara.
 
 In a fresh twist to the case, the probe agency had Monday named Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi also as a co-conspirator in the case, while his wife was listed as a witness.
 
 Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi was named co-conspirator along with Sharad Kumar of Kalaignar TV, Karim Morani of Cineyug Films, and Asif Balwa and Rajiv B. Agarwal of Kusegaon Realty.
 
 Among the accused, Raja, Chandolia, Behura, Shahid Balwa, Asif Balwa, Agarwal, Goenka, Chandra, Doshi, Nair and Pipara are in judicial custody.

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