Karunanidhi’s daughter Selvi to be 2G witness

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrayed DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi’s daughter S. Selvi as one of the witnesses in a 2G scam-related money laundering case in which her mother Dayalu Ammal has been put on trial by a Delhi court.

ED has named 30 persons as prosecution witnesses in the case in which the court had framed charges against ex-telecom minister A. Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi, Dayalu Ammal and 16 others, including nine companies, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Besides Selvi, ED has named as witnesses its deputy director Rajeshwar Singh, Assistant Directors Satyendra Singh and Kamal Singh, who are investigating officers in the case. ED’s joint director Himanshu Kumar Lal, the complainant in the case, will also depose as a witness in the court.

The list of witnesses also contain names of Raja’s former additional private secretary Aseervartham Achary, the then deputy director general of Department of Telecommunications A.K. Srivastava and others. Special CBI judge O.P. Saini has fixed November 17 for commencement of trial in the case when statement of Himanshu Kumar Lal is likely to be recorded.

On October 31, the court had put on trial the 19 accused 10 individuals and nine companies under the provisions of PMLA after they had pleaded not guilty and said that they will go on trial for the charges against them. The court had framed charges against the accused, saying that Raja was in “connivance” with Kanimozhi, Dayalu Ammal and other co-accused in “parking” of illegal gratification of Rs 200 crore in DMK-run Kalaignar TV.

If convicted, Raja and others will face a maximum sentence of up to seven years. The court had said there was enough material on record which made out a “prima facie” case against all the accused who were chargesheeted by ED on April 25 for committing an offence punishable under PMLA.

This is the second case in the 2G spectrum allocation scam  in which Raja, Kanimozhi and others, including Swan Telecom  promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, will face trial  for their alleged involvement in the scam.

Besides Raja, Kanimozhi and Dayalu, the other co-accused in the case are Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka, directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Private Ltd Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar and its director P. Amirtham and Bollywood producer Karim Morani. All of them are out on bail.

The court had also framed charges against accused firms Swan Telecom Private Ltd, Kusegaon Realty Private Ltd (formerly known as Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables), Cineyug Media and Entertainment Private Ltd (formerly known as Cineyug Films Private Ltd), Kalaignar TV Private Ltd, Dynamix Realty, DB Realty Ltd, Eversmile Construction Company Private Ltd, Conwood Constructions and Developers (P) Ltd, and Nihar Constructions Private Ltd.

Enforcement Directorate, in its charge sheet, had alleged that all the accused were involved in the Rs 200-crore money transaction which was “not bonafide” and it was a “bribe for grant of telecom licences to DB Group companies” by Raja.

The court, in its order framing charges against the accused, had said that entire amount to the tune of Rs 223.55 crore was in fact the “proceeds of crime”.

In the first case probed by CBI, Raja, Kanimozhi, Shahid Balwa, Goenka, Asif Balwa, Rajiv Agarwal, Morani and Sharad Kumar, along with nine others, are facing trial for criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery, cheating and other offences punishable under the provisions of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.