According to CBI sources, Nripendera Mishra was one of the 10 key witnesses named by former Aircel chief Sivasankaran in support of his claim that Maran had forced him to sell his stake in Aircel by repeatedly denying telecom licences to him.
Trouble deepens for Union textile minister Dayanidhi Maran after former telecom secretary Nripendera Mishra told CBI that the DMK leader targeted Aircel to benefit Kalanidhi Maran’s television channel.
According to CBI sources, Mishra was one of the 10 key witnesses named by former Aircel chief Sivasankaran in support of his claim that Maran had forced him to sell his stake in Aircel by repeatedly denying telecom licences to him.
CBI has already questioned couple of London-based merchant bankers. Mishra, a 1966 batch IAS from Uttar Pradesh cadre served as the telecom secretary during Maran’s tenure.
“Mishra’s statement was mere corroboration of Sivasankaran’s claims. Mishra told investigators that the former telecom minister had caused an extraordinary delay in approval of initial spectrum to Aircel despite availability and no-objection from other concerned ministries,” a CBI official told DNA.
Sivasankaran’s Aircel eventually sold out to Malaysian firm Maxis, controlled by T Anandakrishnan. It is learnt that Anandakrishnan is considered close to Maran and his brother, Kalanidhi, who owns Sun TV.
The sources said Mishra also told the CBI that Maran deliberately raised questions about Aircel’s sisters concerns and newspaper reports appearing about the company when it was not needed.
The Shivraj Patil committee report has mentioned several of the delays and names former secretaries Misra and DS Mathur as being part of the process in delaying Aircel/ Dishnet Wireless and then attempting to favour it after Sivasankaran sold his stake.
“Sivasankaran has levelled strong allegations against Maran and at present we are verifying his claims by recording statements of key witnesses. We have already asked the DoT for all files pertaining to that period and a few more are expected. We are studying the financial transactions, emails and other communication among Sivasankaran,’’ the CBI official added.
Dayanidhi Maran allegedly forced Sivasankaran to sell the stake to Maxis before awarding 14 telecom licences. In return, Maxis made an investment of around Rs600 crore in Sun TV.
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