CHENNAI: The clandestine operation of a telephone exchange from former Union 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 that the phenomenal change occurred after more than 300 heavy duty ISDN telephone lines were installed at Maran’s residence.
When Express contacted Saxena, he said his duty was that 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 uplinked the data,” he said.
“Earlier, the local exchange used to crash as we had only 50 lines. Thanks to the expertise of Kannan, this problem was sorted out,” said Saxena, who is facing 22 different cases.
Speaking about these cases, he said that none of them had any substance, pointing out that the 22nd case against him was of stealing a motor in Dindigul. “Would I steal a motor worth `700? Besides, I have never been to Dindigul in my life,” said Saxena. The former Sun TV honcho wants Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to appoint a committee to probe all the 22 cases. “If I am found guilty in any one of the cases, I am ready to face the music,” he added. However, he said the government should probe the attack on Checkers Hotel. “I have video evidence and I am willing to share it with the authorities,” he said.
In 2010, a mob of nearly a hundred people ransacked the Checkers Hotel here while reportedly looking for the owner of the hotel, who they claimed was sheltering a friend of a youth who attacked Saxena in a previous incident. Saxena returned to Chennai on June 11 after questioning.
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