2G scam: CBI to look into recorded conversations

New Delhi: CBI today decided to analyse the taped conversations which the Aam Aadmi Party claims as additional “evidence” in the 2G scam showing alleged roles of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, his daughter Kanimozhi and a top police officer of Tamil Nadu. “A conversation which is said to have been taken place in February-March, 2011 purportedly between Sharad Kumar Reddy of Kalaignar TV Pvt Limited and Jaffar Sait, the then Additional DGP (Intelligence) has come to the notice of CBI through media reports,” CBI spokesperson said in a statement. [caption id=“attachment_1374121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Karunanidhi and Stalin. PTI image[/caption] CBI is in the process of obtaining the recordings and transcripts of these conversations, the spokesperson said. “We will first establish the veracity and genuineness of these tapes,” a senior CBI officer said. AAP leaders Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and others told a press conference earlier that recently four new taped conversations have surfaced which “throw more light” on the scam in which Kanimozhi has been chargesheeted by the CBI. Bhushan admitted that AAP cannot independently verify the authenticity of the tapes but prima facie they appeared to be genuine. They appear to be recorded by someone on a Nokia mobile phone, he claimed. According to him, these tapes contained purported conversation between a top officer of the state police and a senior official in Karunanidhi’s office as well as between the police officer and Kanimozhi. The alleged conversations took place between November 2010 and February 2011, when Karunanidhi was the chief minister. AAP demanded an independent probe into the alleged role played by Karunanidhi and the police officer in “covering up” the scam. Based on the claims, CBI decided to analyse the conversations and would soon approach AAP seeking a copy of these tapes. In its charge sheet in 2G scam, CBI alleged that Kalaignar TV, in which Kanimozhi and her mother Dayalu Ammal had 80 per cent stake, allegedly received Rs 214-crore from Shahid Balwa’s Dynamix Realty, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables and Cineyug Films in return of favours given to Swan Telecom by then Telecom Minister A Raja in 2G spectrum allocation. Kanimozhi, who was also charged under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, had claimed that this amount was an unsecured loan which had been returned. PTI