Radia tape official back at Centre

The appointment committee of the cabinet appointed controversial IAS bureaucrat Sunil Arora, last heard on the infamous Radia tapes, as an additional secretary in the central government.

An official release from the department of personnel and training stated that Arora, a 1980-batch IAS officer, has been appointed as an additional secretary in the Union ministry of textiles.

Arora was last heard speaking to Niira Radia, whose phone had been tapped by the directorate general of income tax (investigation) following a November 2008 complaint. Subsequently her alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum allocation scam had also been investigated by the CBI. However, Radia was not charge sheeted and was merely made a witness in the case.

In the taped conversations that were leaked, Arora was heard telling Radia that he knew about judges in the Delhi high court passing judgments after taking money. Arora, who was a joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry, had headed the government carrier as its chief managing director.  During his stint, the national carrier had done a turn around.

It is believed that he had unfaltering views about former civil aviation minister and NCP leader Praful Patel. After the conversations were exposed in the media, Arora had suffered considerable embarrassment with the Rajasthan government stating that it would look into his conversations and take action, if necessary. However, he was posted as the development commissioner (handlooms) in the state before being picked for a central posting. As an additional secretary, Arora can now continue at the Centre as long as he is empanelled for higher ranks.