The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday recorded the statement of former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran in the illegal telephone exchange case.
“As directed by the Supreme Court, Mr. Maran reported to the CBI headquarters at 11 a.m. His statement was recorded till 5 p.m.,” said an agency official.
The CBI has accused the former Union Minister of concealing facts about the installation of about 770 phone lines, including 353 high-end connections, at his Delhi and Chennai residences during 2004-07. The phone lines were installed allegedly without prior approval of the Department of Telecommunications.
The agency charged that these phone lines were extended to his brother Kalanithi Maran’s Sun TV network offices to enable its uplinking, which caused a loss of over Rs.1.7 crore to the exchequer. The Integrated Switch Digital Network technology and the equipment installed at the former Minister’s residence were used for a heavy amount of data transfer, it alleged.
Accusing Mr. Maran of not cooperating , the CBI had sought his custodial interrogation. But the Supreme Court turned down the agency’s request last week.
However, the apex court directed the former Union Minister to appear before the CBI for six days from November 30 to December 5, to answer all relevant questions raised by the investigating officer.
In January this year, the CBI had arrested three persons, including former additional private secretary to Mr. Maran, for their alleged involvement in the case. Among those arrested were S. Kannan, Chief Technical Officer of Sun TV, and K.S. Ravi, an electrician with Sun TV.
