Telephone cables to Maran's house illegal, CBI files case

New Delhi: The telephone lines leading to former Union Minister and DMK leader-

-may lead him to jail. Claiming them to be illegal, the

has filed a

against him and the officials of BSNL. The CBI has converted the preliminary enquiry that they were investigating into a regular complaint.

Sun TV did not have to pay anything for the high quality data cables

Cables connecting Maran's house and Sun TV

323 residential lines, in the name of the BSNL general manager, allegedly connected Maran's boat house with that of the office of Sun TV during the tenure of Maran as the telecom minister.

Despite seeking action from the Telecom Ministry in 2007, the CBI was denied investigations. According to sources, these lines were not ordinary lines but strong ISDN cables that ere costlier and had a huge capacity to carry data, thus enabling faster transmission of TV news and programmes across the globe.

Moreover, these are used for commercial purposes and by media houses to meet special requirements like video conferencing, transmission of huge volume of data, which requires heavy capital.

Surprisingly, Sun TV did not have to pay a penny for this. CBI investigations further allege that the virtual exchanges were programmed in such a way that except the "authorised" BSNL staff, no one was aware of the existance of such a connection.

Moreover, the underground cable was placed in such a manner that it seemed as if the cnnection was used by Maran himself, but was actually serving the media channel.

OneIndia News