SC to hear plea for CBI probe into Batcha's death

The mysterious death of former telecom minister A Raja's close aide Sadiq Batcha was today brought to the notice of the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the plea for a CBI probe in the matter.

Appearing for NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation, on whose plea a CBI probe was directed into the 2G scam, advocate Prashant Bhushan pleaded before the court that the death is related with the scam and should also be probed by the investigating agency.

He also mentioned that the state government has favoured a CBI probe into Batcha's death.

A bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly, while agreeing to hear his plea, said, "Wait till lunch or tomorrow morning as some development might take place during the day."

Bhushan said he would bring the matter before the bench again at 2 PM.

47-year-old Batcha died in mysterious circumstances at his home in South Chennai yesterday and his wife claimed that he committed suicide "unable to cope with the pressure" of the probe in the case.

Batcha was the Managing Director of Greenhouse Promoters, a firm under the scanner of the CBI as well as the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the spectrum allocation scam.

He was said to have been found hanging in his house in Vannia Teynampet in South Chennai by his wife and his driver around 1300 hours.

The CBI and the ED had conducted searches at his official and residential premises here in December. He was called for questioning four times since then.

The possibility of his firms acting as a front for the former minister was being looked into.