Kanimozhi

New Delhi, April 25: The CBI today chargesheeted M. Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi in the 2G case but spared her stepmother Dayalu Ammal, naming her as a witness rather than as an accused.

The court, “satisfied that there is enough incriminating material”, issued summons to Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, 43, to appear before it on May 6, failing which an arrest warrant would be issued.

The chargesheet, the second in the case, accuses Kanimozhi of hatching a criminal conspiracy with former telecom minister A. Raja. She has also been charged with accepting a bribe through the family-owned Kalaignar TV for the award of a 2G licence.

Dayalu, Karunanidhi’s second wife and the mother of Stalin and Alagiri, had figured prominently during the probe. The CBI had questioned the 79-year-old with Kanimozhi, the daughter of Karunanidhi’s third wife Rajathi. Dayalu holds 60 per cent stake in Kalaignar TV compared with Kanimozhi’s 20 per cent.

But CBI sources said that while the younger woman played an “active role” in the channel’s operations, Dayalu did not. They also pointed to the Radia tapes’ “revelation” that Kanimozhi was interested in Raja being retained as telecom minister in UPA II.

“She was also actively pursuing the matters of Kalaignar TV in the information and broadcasting ministry. But Dayalu communicates only in Tamil. She had not signed any documents related to Kalaignar TV,” an official said.

“She was just on the company board to meet quorum requirements. She has a large stake because she invested the money she got as a director.”

The chargesheet names four other accused including a Kalaignar TV director. The witnesses include Raja’s nephew Pramesh Kumar.