Siva was armtwisted: Ex-DoT Secretary

NEW DELHI: The CBI, investigating former telec­om minis­ter Dayanidhi Maran’s alleged invol­vement in the 2G spectrum scam, got a shot in the arm on Wednesday after retired Telecom Secretary Nirpendra Mishra, in his statement to the investigating agency, corroborated former Aircel chief C Sivasankaran’s version of the Aircel-Maxis deal.Mishra told the CBI how during his tenure in 2005-06 the minister sat on the comp­any’­s request for additional spectrum, ultimately forcing Sivasankaran to sell his company to Malaysia-based Maxis group, owned by T Ananda Krishnan, a close family friend of Maran, at a much lower price than the existing market value.According to CBI sources, Mishra’s written statements say Maran had deliberately raised questions about Aircel’s sister concerns, when it was not pertinent, and delayed approval of initial spectrum to it despite approval from the defence ministry.