A Special CBI court on Friday slammed the Tihar Jail administration for discrimination among inmates after Shahid Usman Balwa,prime accused in the 2G scam,blamed the jail officials for not giving food to him and the other accused. He also alleged in the open court that the constables who allowed him to carry apples were threatened with suspension by senior police officers. The jail officers are not letting us have even food. We left the jail in morning and are not given anything since then, Balwa said after a day-long hearing in a Patiala House court,taking everyone by surprise. While other inmates can buy food from the jail canteen and carry it with them,we bought four apples today morning but were forced to throw these away. Senior cops threatened to suspend the constables who allowed us to carry food stuff. I request the lordship to ensure fair treatment to us, he alleged. Besides Balwa,former telecom minister A Raja and bureaucrats R K Chandolia and Siddharth Behura are lodged in the high-security jail in connection with the scam. Balwas counsel Vijay Aggarwal also filed an application,pointing out that the denial of food to inmates was violation of their rights and jail manual. Tihar officers escorting the accused tried to explain,but Special CBI Judge O P Saini slammed them. I dont want to hear such complaints. The accused should be given all requisite facilities. The CBI,meanwhile,sought detention of five top corporate officials in judicial custody to ensure speedy trial. The five,made accused in the case but not yet arrested,are Swan Telecom director Vinod Goenka,Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd managing director Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of Reliance ADAG Gautam Doshi,Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair. Opposing their bail pleas,the CBI said: The accused are holding high positions and now that the names of witnesses are disclosed,some of whom are directly working under (them) or are amenable to their directions,possibility of winning over and/or influencing the witnesses is clearly present. Countering the defence contention,Special Public Prosecutor U U Lalit said: Is there any provision that a non-arrested accused has to be given bail? On the role of Reliance executives,the CBI claimed that Gautam Doshi used Swan Telecom as a front company of Reliance ADAG to apply for UAS licences. Arguments on bail petitions continued through the day and will resume on Monday.
