An Indian court today dismissed the bail application of former Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura, accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scandal.
Behura, who was arrested along with former Telecom Minister A. Raja in the 2G case, has been charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
On Thursday, lawyer Prashant Bhushan alleged that the investigating agencies have overlooked the role of Shyam Telelink in the 2G spectrum scandal because it has links to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
In a plea filed with the Supreme Court on Thursday, Bhushan sought the Indian Supreme Court’s direction for the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to investigate the allocation of 21 UAS licenses to Shyam-Sistema group by Raja.
“Russia-based Sistema group is promoted by Russian billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov, who has a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin,” Bhushan’s petition said. “He was a part of the delegation when (then-President) Putin visited India in January 2007 on a two-day visit. It appears Shyam Sistema has been left out from the investigation because of this relationship.”
