CBI to summon WorldTel chief Mascarenhas

The CBI will soon be summoning WorldTel chief Mark Mascarenhas in the case of alleged bunglings in the award of telecast rights in collusion with some officials of Doordarshan.

Mascarenhas, whose prelimnary questioning was done by the CBI's Anti-Corruption Unit last week, has been summoned to the agency again for a detailed interrogation, agency sources said in New Delhi on Friday. WorldTel offices were raided by CBI on November 13 last year for allegedly causing a loss of several crores of rupees to Prasar Bharti in the award of telecast rights of Independence Cup in 1997 and ICC KnockOut tournament in 1998.

The CBI had registered a case in the telecast rights on November 8. The sources said the WorldTel Chief had been summoned again and asked to produce certain documents after which his detailed examination would proceed.

These documents pertain to the telecast of the above two tournaments whose bidding was being investigated by the agency, the sources said. During the preliminary enquiry, CBI had confronted Mascarenhas with some documents seized during the raids. The agency has alleged that WorldTel in connivance with certain officials of the International Cricket Council had manipulated the bid of these two tournaments causing loss of nearly Rs 25 crore to the Prasar Bharti.

CBI in its FIR filed in the designated court had alleged that WorldTel had conspired with certain senior officials of Doordarshan, Stracon India, and some officials of ICC and International Cricket Council Development Inc. and caused a loss of Rs 21 crore in the telecast of the ICC KnockOut tournament played in Kenya. CBI has registered case under section 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy), certain provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act and 420 (cheating).

In another case pertaining to telecast of Independence Cup in 1997, CBI charged WorldTel, some officials of Doordarshan and United Television Network with causing a loss of Rs 3.75 crore to Prasar Bharti.

CBI has registered a case under criminal conspiracy and Prevention of Corruption Act. CBI is mainly probing the charges of inflated production costs and undue benefit in grant of overseas telecast rights to WorldTel, the sources said.