Some crucial documents of a telecom firm given to Department of Telecom for allocation of 2G spectrum to it and forming key evidence in the scam has gone missing from the Department, CBI told a court in New Delhi.

“The documents submitted by one telecom company to DoT for allocation of spectrum, on the basis of which their (telecom firm’s) priority was to be determined, are reported to be untraceable and could not yet be traced or recovered,” CBI told Special CBI Judge O P Saini in New Delhi on Monday.

CBI made the submission in its reply opposing the bail plea of former Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura who was arrested with ex-Telecom Minister A Raja on 2nd February for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

CBI opposed the bail plea also saying “some more documents are yet to be recovered” be them.

Detailing the alleged role of Behura in the 2G scam, CBI said Raja and Behura had abused their official position as “public servants” and approved the file relating to verification of eligibility conditions of Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd.

“Raja and Behura, by abusing their official positions as public servants and thereby ignoring the serious issues raised by the concerned section for further verification of eligibility conditions of Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd, have dishonestly approved the file on January 9, 2008 for issue of Letters of Intent (LoI) for 13 telecom service areas,” CBI said.

CBI said Behura, in conspiracy with Raja’s former personal secretary R K Chandolia and others, had made arrangements for distribution of LoIs and responses of DoT in an arbitrary and unfair manner.

It said Behura and others have done this in an unfair manner as the same were “neither distributed simultaneously nor on first-come-first-serve basis, but instead were distributed in a manner designed to benefit Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd and other companies.”

CBI opposed the bail plea of Behura, also saying he is “an influential person” and there is every likelihood of tampering of evidence and threatening of witnesses by him. The court fixed 9th March to hear arguments on Behura’s bail plea.

CBI, meanwhile, sought some time from the court for filing its reply on Behura’s plea that his bank accounts, sealed by CBI, be de-freezed as he needs money for treatment of his wife who had recently undergone operation for cancer.

The court listed the matter for CBI’s reply on 15th March. Behura is now in judicial custody till 3rd March.