Maran's Illegal exchange bought in remarkable change in Sun TV ops, says Saxena

C Shivakumar/ ENS

Chennai:

The clandestine operation of a telephone exchange
from former Union Telecom and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran’s house in
Chennai brought in a remarkable change in operation of Sun network,
according to a former top Sun TV official.

CBI sources told Express that former Sun TV vice president
(programming) Hansraj Saxena told Central Bureau of Investigation in
New Delhi that it was during his tenure the phenomenal change happened
after more than 300 heavy duty ISDN telephone lines were installed at
Maran’s residence.

When Express contacted Saxena, he said that his duty is of
programming. “I don’t have anything to do with uplinking. Chief
technical officer Kannan was the one who helped in providing the
infrastructure. I only uplink the data,” he said.

He did agree that after the illegal exchange was set up, Sun TV
programming improved to a great extent.

“Earlier, the local exchange used to crash as we had only 50 lines.
Thanks to the expertise of Kannan, this problem was sorted out,”
Saxena, who is facing 22 different cases, said. Talking about his 22
cases, Saxena said none of them had any substance. The 22nd case
against me is of stealing a motor in Dindigul. “Would I steal a motor
worth Rs 700. I had never been to Dindigul throughout my life,” said
Saxena.

The former Sun TV honcho wants Chief Minister to appoint a committee
to investigate all the 22 cases. “If I am guilty in any one of the
case, I am ready to face the music,” he says.

However, he says government should probe the attack on Checkers Hotel.
“I have the video evidence and willing to share it with the
authorities,” Saxena says.

Interestingly, it is not only Saxena but also Former Kalaignar TV
managing director and a former senior executive of Sun Network Sharad
Kumar who was grilled by CBI on June 9. Saxena returned to Chennai on
June 11.