Sadiq Batcha?s suicide note blames no one: Police

Tamil Nadu police on Wednesday evening said that a suicide note left by business associate of jailed ex-telecom minister A Raja, Sadiq Batcha, who was quizzed over the 2G scam probe held no one responsible for his death.

Batcha was found hanging in his residence here in an apparent act of suicide in his bathroom by his family members around 11 am on Wednesday.

His body was taken to the Apollo Hospital where he was brought dead, hospital sources said and was later taken to a government hospital for an autopsy.

Batcha, a 47-year-old Tamil Nadu businessman, had been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the 2G scam twice in the last few weeks. His premises were raided too.

He was not found guilty of anything apparently yet, but was asked to cooperate with the investigating agency to nail Raja, reports said.

Media reports said there was pressure on Batcha to be an approver in the 2G case.

According to the Batcha?s wife, Bhanu, he killed himself because could not cope up with the embarrassment for being linked to the 2G spectrum scam.

Green House Promoters, the real estate company Batcha headed as Managing Director, was being investigated for being a front company for Raja to whom he was close to, some media reports said.

One report said Batcha was to take a flight to Delhi around 2 pm on Wednesday for appearing before the CBI, but the news was not corroborated.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asked for a probe into the incident, saying it was ?not an ordinary suicide?. There was a possibility that Batcha was killed to keep him from giving up key details, said the party.

Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy, who is a petitioner in the 2G case, said whether it was a suicide has to be confirmed first.

“Whether he committed suicide or persuaded to commit suicide or he was killed has to be awaited till the autopsy report. He was not a weak man,” Swamy said.

The suicide news came on a day when the CBI told the Supreme Court that former Telecom minister A Raja will be chargesheeted by Mar 31 in the 2G spectrum scam.

The CBI, while filing a status report in the 2G scam before the apex court bench of judges G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly, said A Raja will be indicted along with two firms.

Andimuthu Raja, charged of forgery and conspiracy as well, is the main accused for leading the 2G spectrum scam that cost the national exchequer up to 1.76 lakh crore, according to the government?s auditor.

As Raja languishes in jail, the investigating agency has quizzed several people, including the leaders of Raja’ party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam?s (DMK).

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the DMK?s opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J Jayalalithaa called Batcha ?the main custodian of the former Union Telecom Minister’s ill-gotten gains from the infamous 2-G Spectrum scam?.

She said the suicide does not come as a surprise and it was a move by the DMK to silence him. A similar fate could await other key witnesses in the 2G scam and even Raja, warned Jayalalithaa.