CBI chargesheets Essar, Loop Telecom in 2G

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed another chargesheet against Essar and Loop Telecom in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case. Essar has been charged with controlling Loop Telecom through a stake in Vodafone.

In the chargesheet CBI has named Essar Promoter Director Anshuman Ruia, Essar Vice Chairman Ravi Ruia, Essar Group Director (Strategy & Planning) Vikas Saraf, and Loop Telecom's Kiran Khaitan and IP Khaitan. They have been charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 and 120(b), which deals with cheating and criminal conspiracy.

However, no public servant has been named in the chargesheet.

As the charges of conspiracy are limited to Essar and Loop officials, former telecom A Raja and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura have not been named for conspiracy and so the case against Ruias and Khaitans will not be heard by Special CBI judge OP Saini but by a metropolitan magistrate.

This could mean no day to day hearing and a trial separate from the main 2G scam trial.

However, Essar Group issued a statement denying all charges and said that the company would take legal recourse. The statement said that the CBI has confirmed that the company is not involved in the 2G scam and the charges relate only to interpretation of Clause 8 violation of the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) guidelines.

The company also added that the chargesheet would not impact business operations of the Group.

Meanwhile, Essar Group has denied all charges and will take legal recourse. Calling the chargesheet