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A former senior DoT official today told a Delhi court trying the 2G spectrum allocation case that he had recommended transfer of two officials of the department for their “disobedience” and also because of the “pressure” from the then Telecom Minister A Raja’s erstwhile Private Secretary, R K Chandolia.
R P Agarwal, a retired Wireless Advisor of Department of Telecom (DoT), said there was pressure from Chandolia to put up the file for Delhi service area but when R J S Kushvaha and D Jha, DoT’s then Joint Wireless Advisor and Deputy Wireless Advisor respectively, refused to do so, Chandolia had told him that these two officials should be transferred.
The CBI, in its charge sheet, had alleged that Chandolia and the then Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura, also an accused, had “caused the transfer of two concerned officers of WPC, who were not prepared to tow their line” on August 25, 2008.
During his cross examination by Chandolia’s counsel Vijay Aggarwal, the witness said the main reason which led to the transfer of these two officials was their disobedience and also to save them from disciplinary action.
“I recommended the transfers suo motu as well as on the pressure of the office of the minister as these two officers (Jha and Kushvaha) were not complying with the orders”.
”...It is correct that completion of tenure in the DoT was one of the reasons leading to transfer of the two officers, but their disobedience was the main reason and (it was done) also to save them from disciplinary action,” he told Special CBI Judge O P Saini.
On being asked by the CBI prosecutor what “prevented” him for warding off the pressure by Chandolia, the witness replied, “In my opinion what I was putting up was correct, so I put up the note. I also obeyed Chandolia as he was conveying the orders of the office of minister.”
During recording of statement, which concluded today, Agarwal said Chandolia had been asking him to put up the file for allocation of 2G spectrum in Delhi service area since mid-August 2008.
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