Vodafone, DoT officials meet

Top representatives of British telecom giant Vodafone are understood to have met senior officials of department of telecom in New Delhi, presumably to discuss issues related to its interest in acquiring Hutch Essar.

While there was no scheduled meeting on Thursday, sources familiar with the development said the visit could be related to Vodafone's intentions to acquire Hutch Essar, the country's fourth-largest

mobile operator.

A Vodafone spokesperson could not be immediately contacted for comments.

DoT Secretary D S Mathur could not be contacted.

The British telecom firm is one of the front-runners for Hutch Essar, in which Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom has 67 per cent stake and India's Essar the remaining 33 per cent.