2G: ED officer moves SC, claims intimidation by journos

A senior Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer today moved the Supreme Court accusing two former journalists of intimidating and blackmailing him from conducting a fair probe in the 2G spectrum allocation related case.

Sharad Choudhary, assistant director, ED, heading a joint team of CBI and ED probing the overseas scam angle has charged that Subodh Jain, a former reporter and Upendra Rai the then Editor of Sahara India media, have been filing "frivolous and false allegations" against him with the PMO and various agencies to deter him from discharging his duties.

"In order to blackmail the applicant as well as to prevent him from being a member of the investigation team they are trying to intimidate him by circulating false, malicious and frivolous complaints against him and his family members at all forums such as the Prime Minister's Office, Finance Ministers Office the Central Vigilance Commissioner's office the CBI and IB offices etc," the petition said.

Seeking protection for conducting a fair and free investigation, Choudhary urged the apex court to initiate "suo motu contempt proceedings" against the duo for "their contemptuous action of thwarting the course of investigation and consequentially the course of justice."

According to the official, the motivated allegations are being directed at him at a time when the investigation was at a crucial stage resulting in the delay of his departure for conducting further probe in the matter.

Choudhary submitted that the motivated attacks against him were being engineered despite the apex court direction of March 16, 2011 restraining all including the said news organisation from interfering with the functioning of the probe teams and the contempt proceedings already pending against the same alleged contemnors in the case file by another ED officer Rajeshwar Singh.