CBI probe into Centaur Hotel sale

Virtually conceding the demands of the Left, the government has ordered a CBI probe into the privatisation of two Centaur Hotels in Mumbai in view of the anomalies pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in the process.

The file for CBI probe was cleared by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram last week, sources said.

The decision assumes importance in the wake of a hardline stand taken by the Left parties on divestment issues, including BHEL, ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament commencing on Monday.

The CBI is weighing the options of registering a regular case or a preliminary enquiry into the Centaur hotels' divestment case referred to it by the government.

The agency received a communication from the government on Wednesday to probe the privatisation of two hotels at the Airport and Juhu in Mumbai executed by the previous government in 2002, CBI sources said.