Raja’s Close Aide Sadiq Batcha Commits Suicide

Mangaloretoday News Network

Chennai, March 16: Former telecom minister A Raja’s close aide Sadiq Batcha, who was questioned by the CBI in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, committed suicide at his house here on Wednesday.

Batcha hanged himself from the ceiling in his house located in central Chennai at around 11.00 am today. His body has been taken to the Apollo Hospital. Chennai Police Commissioner T Rajendran has confirmed the news to a private TV channel.

As per reports, Batcha was scheduled to take a flight to Delhi later in the day to present himself for further questioning by the CBI.

He was the managing director of a real estate firm Green House Promoters, a company which is said to have been used as a front company for channelling Raja’s loot.

Known as a tough guy, Batcha was someone who was assumed to have had all the information about the ill gotten money that Raja minted by selling of 2G spectrum at dirt cheap prices.

Raja’s wife, brother and a nephew were also on the board of directors of the Chennai-based company.

Green House Promoters is said to have huge amounts of black money stashed in foreign accounts to evade tax - the money was re-channelled in such a way that it looked like foreign investment.

Batcha was interrogated by the CBI and the fact has surfaced that he was instrumental in transferring the money Raja received as kickbacks in the spectrum allocation into various ventures. Moreover, he was quizzed about the rapid rise in the turnover of his company from Rs 1 lakh in 2004 to Rs 600 cr in 2010.

The investigators also quizzed Batcha about the Swan Telecom’s – one of the beneficiaries of Raja’s arbitrary spectrum allocation – plan to invest Rs 1,000 crore in Green House Promoters.

Batcha’s is a rags to riches story. He started out as a small-time saree salesman in Raja’s hometown Perambalur in Tamil Nadu. Gradually, he shifted to electronics but his big break came after he met Raja, when he quickly moved up the ladder and forayed into real estate by floating Green House Promoters in 2004.

His mentor A Raja is currently lodged in Tihar Jail along with his three associates.