Balwa sent to Tihar Jail till March 3

NEW DELHI - Shahid Usman Balwa, the managing director of DB Realty and arrested in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam, Friday joined former communications minister A. Raja in Tihar Jail after a court sent him to judicial custody till March 3.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini sent Balwa to 13 days’ judicial custody.

The former communications minister was Thursday sent to judicial custody till March 3 by a Delhi court. Raja was arrested Feb 2.

The CBI court allowed Balwa to have home cooked food in jail and carry his medicines, as per the jail manual.

Balwa earlier moved an application saying that he was suffering from back pain. He sought permission to use the prescribed orthopaedic mattress and pillow. His plea was allowed by the court.

An “orthopaedic mattress and pillow will also be made available to him as he is suffering from back pain”, said the court.

According to the CBI, Balwa’s company Swan Telecom (a part of the Mumbai-based DB Realty) allegedly got favours in the spectrum allocation and caused the national exchequer a loss of over Rs.22,000 crore.

The CBI pointed out to the court that it had added two more sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to cheating and forgery in the case against the accused.

Balwa was brought to Delhi Feb 10 evening by a CBI team after a Mumbai court granted the agency his two-day transit remand. He was arrested in Mumbai Feb 8.

On Feb 8, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura and Raja’s former personal secretary R.K. Chandolia, were sent to 14 days’ judicial custody.