CBI to question Kanimozhi before March 31

2G scam: Kanimozhi to be questioned by CBI.

Kanimozhi - a DMK MP and daughter of Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi - will be questioned by the CBI before March 31 in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, well informed sources said Thursday.

"Her questioning is imminent. Kanimozhi will be questioned before March 31," a top Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official told IANS.

The CBI sources said Kanimozhi would be summoned for questions related to the flow of over Rs.200 crore from Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa's DB Realty firm to Kalaignar TV, a regional Tamil channel in which Karunanidhi's family members allegedly have a majority stake. Kanimozhi alone is said to have 20 percent stake in the TV channel.

Balwa is one of the accused in the scam and his Swan Telecom was allegedly favoured by former communications minister and DMK MP A. Raja in the allocation of second generation (2G) spectrum licences.

CBI is probing if there was any quid pro quo under which Balwa transferred funds to the TV channel and in return got 2G spectrum licences at throwaway prices. Balwa is already in jail along with Raja.

CBI has been asked by the Supreme Court to file charges in the case by March 31 and the sources said Kanimozhi's examination is important for finalising the chargesheet.

The sources said Sharat Kumar, managing director of Kalaignar TV, would also be questioned in the next couple of days as he has already been summoned by the CBI March 8. Kumar has denied the flow of funds from Balwa's company.

The sources, however, ruled out the questioning of Karunanidhi's second wife Dayalu Ammal as she is believed to be a "sleeping partner" in the channel and "won't fetch any information".