CBI gets two-day extension of custody for A. Raja

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A. Raja being produced at Patiala House court on Tuesday in connection with 2G spectrum scam

Former telecom minister A. Raja was on Tuesday remanded to two more days of CBI custody by a court here for further interrogation after the agency submitted that he was not divulging any "useful information" regarding his role in the 2G scam.

Special Judge O.P. Saini also sent former telecom secretary Siddartha Behura and Raja's former personal secretary R.K. Chandolia to Tihar Jail under judicial custody as the agency said it no longer needs them in its custody.

Mr Raja will remain in CBI custody till February 10.

The trio, arrested by the agency on February 2 for their alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, involving a loss of Rs 22,000 crore to the public exchequer as per the CVC estimates, were produced before the special judge following expiry of their five-day custody with the CBI.

After producing the trio before the court, the CBI sought four more days of custody to interrogate Mr Raja saying that he was "not divulging any useful and crucial information" about his role in 2G spectrum scam.

"Some more documents are to be recovered and accused Mr Raja is to be confronted with them," senior CBI prosecutor Akhilesh submitted.

Refuting allegations by Mr Raja's counsel Ramesh Gupta that the agency had not disclosed to the court the outcome of the probe conducted so far in this case, Akhilesh said, "The case diary has already been submitted to the court. Each and everything cannot be disclosed in the open courtroom."

Opposing CBI's demand for four more days of Mr Raja's custody, Gupta said, "I am not having the custody of any document, which the CBI wants to recover from me."

"Whatever documents were there, they have already been seized by them in 2009 itself," he added.

About Behura and Chandolia, the CBI counsel said the agency no longer needs their custody. "The two can be sent to Tihar Jail under judicial custody," he said.