Custody of Raja, 3 others extended till March 31

The judicial custody of former Telecom Minister A Raja and his three associates, arraigned in 2G spectrum allocation scam, was today extended by another fortnight by a Delhi court on a CBI plea.

The three others whose judicial custody was extended by Special Judge OP Saini till March 31 included former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's former personal secretary RK Chandolia and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa.

The four accused, who were slated to be produced in the court through video conferencing, had to appear in person before it due to some technical glitches in the video conferencing system linking the Tihar Jail, where they are now lodged, and the Patiala House court complex.

The CBI pleaded for continued judicial custody of the four saying the probe into the case was still going on and the accused, being "highly influential" persons, may tamper with the evidence and influence witnesses, if released now.

"The investigation is in progress and is at a crucial stage. Some more witnesses are yet to be examined and some more documents are to be collected," the CBI said.