Sadiq Batcha

Sadiq Batcha (c. 1963 – 16 March 2011)[1] was the Managing Director of real estate company Green House Promoters Private Limited. Sadiq allegedly committed suicide under suspicious circumstances related to the 2G spectrum scam in India.

Early career

Batcha was born in the Karur municipality of Tamil Nadu, one of four brothers. Whilst Batcha was still in Karur his two brothers Jamal Mohammed and Jaffar Ali opened a real estate business. Batcha received a Master of Business Administration (MBA). He had a modest start to his career, selling mattresses and clothes as a door-to-door salesperson. He initially went door-to-door by foot, then by bicycle.

Anecdotal accounts of Batcha's early financial ventures claim that he sought to purchase land, providing the owning party with an initial deposit upfront. He would then re-sell the land to a larger party, making a profit, and settle his debt with the initial landowner. Batcha borrowed sums of money from banks and private lenders and began to diversifydiversification his activities. Some of these ventures failed and, at this point, Batcha sought the help of a lawyer, A. Raja. Allegations of improper conduct surfaced soon after in relation to Batcha's pre-existing ownership of cheaply acquired land involved with important infrastructure projects that were scheduled for the Perambalur district.[2]

A. Kaliaperumal, A. Raja's elder brother, is the Joint MD (managing director) of Green House Promoters.[2]

Business Interests

Green House Promoters Private Limited was floated months after A. Raja became a Union minister in 1999. The real estate company soon flourished, acquiring huge tracts of land in the state's small towns and selling it at a huge premium. It was alleged that Batcha forcibly acquired large tracts of land from the poor at cheap rates and sold it to Madras Rubber Factory for a huge sum.

The Green House Promoters, starting as a nondescript company with an equity base of Rs 100,000 in 2004, grew to a company of over Rs 6 billion in revenue within a short time. The CBI is investigating the rapid growth of the company.[3]

The company also indirectly benefited from the 2G spectrum scam by acquiring shares of a company that, in turn, became a partner in Swan Telecom. Swan Telecom was one of the beneficiaries of the first-come-first-served policy, which came from the then minister for Telecom in India.

Death

Sadiq Batcha is said to have committed suicide at his residence in Chennai on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 (IST). He was found hung at his home. He was pronounced "dead on arrival" at the Apollo hospital in Chennai at about 1:30 pm. Doctors believe he died of asphyxia. Some believe that this was not a suicide, but that he died from mysterious causes.[4] In a long letter, which started with an apology, he blamed none for his suicide and said he felt sorry for Raja's plight. He expressed his wish to be reborn and wanted his siblings to be happy and his wife and children to stay in Chennai for their education.[5]

Some believe that Batcha had too much information and he was the man who could have given CBI the exact map of the 2G money trail.[6] It is also alleged that he was the link between the 2G money, the underworld and the hawala operators.[4]

A CBI investigation alleged that his company, Greenhouse, was a front company belonging to Raja, and all the money earned through the 2G spectrum scam was hidden in Greenhouse. The investigations have also shown that Batcha handled all of Raja's money.[7]

The CBI wanted names of four very crucial accomplices who helped Batcha rout the money between India and Singapore. These men are alleged to be operatives of the Dawood gang. Sources say the CBI wanted to interrogate Batcha further on this on the Wednesday he was found dead.[6]

The doctor who performed an autopsy and postmortem on Batcha's body resigned from government service. Dr V Dekal, who heads the department of forensic sciences at Madras Medical College, said he had put in his papers on March 3, over a fortnight before Batcha's suicide, to contest the Tamil Nadu assembly elections. The Directorate of Public Health has reportedly rejected Dr V Dekal's resignation on grounds of shortage of staff and lack of sufficient notice. Dekal claims that he was only on contract with the Health Department and could, therefore, quit at any time.[8]

CBI investigated the case,Professor T D Dogra of AIIMS was consulted by CBI,[9][10] but in April 2012, Indian media reported that CBI did not find any evidence which could indicate that it was a murder and not a suicide.[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ "Raja aide Batcha's suicide note blames none - 2". News.in.msn.com. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  2. 1 2 "Just who was Sadiq Batcha? - Rediff.com News". Rediff.com. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  3. ↑ "The story of Sadiq Batcha". Sify.com. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  4. 1 2 "'Batcha was not soft enough to commit suicide' - Rediff.com India News". Rediff.com. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  5. ↑ "Raja aide Batcha's suicide note blames none". News.in.msn.com. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  6. 1 2 "Batcha could have led CBI to 2G money trail - Rediff.com News". Rediff.com. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  7. ↑ "Was Batcha 'removed' to save 2G culprits? - Rediff.com News". Rediff.com. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  8. ↑ "IN offers Songs, Music, Videos, Games, Movie, Celebs, Download, E Mail, News, Devotion, Search Online "IN.com"". Connect.in.com. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  9. ↑ "AIIMS team meets doctors who did autopsy on Batcha". ZEE NEWS. July 5, 2011. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  10. ↑ PTI Jun 30, 2011, 10.50pm IST (2011-06-30). "2G scam: CBI to send AIIMS team to probe Batcha's death - Economic Times". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  11. ↑ "CBI may close Sadiq Batcha case". The Hindu. April 24, 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  12. ↑ "CBI to close Sadiq Batcha death case". Deccan Chronicle. April 23, 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.

See also

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