The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered two fresh cases in the coal block allocation issue. With this, the total number of cases in the alleged irregularities in allocation of coal block has touched 14.

“The first case is against the owner of Central Collieries Ltd (CCL), Nagpur, others and unknown public servants, and the second case is against the promoter director of Prakash Industries, Delhi, and unknown public servants,” said a senior investigating agency official.

Allegations in the CCL case are related to forgery, criminal breach of trust and selling of coal in the open market against the concept of captive allocation of coal blocks for specified end use.

In the Prakash Industries matter, the charges include misrepresenting of net worth while applying for the block, the official said. Immediately after registering the case against CCL, the agency conducted searches at three places in Nagpur and one in Mumbai. In Prakash Industries’ case, three places in Delhi and one each in Jangir and Bilaspur in Chattisgarh were searched.

Second chargesheet Meanwhile, Press Trust of India reported that CBI had filed its second chargesheet in the coal scam before a Delhi court on Thursday naming Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda of the Nagpur-based AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd and others as accused for fraudulently acquiring coal blocks. According to CBI sources, the accused, including Darda and his son Devendra, were chargesheeted for the offences under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with Sec 420 (cheating) of the IPC and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI, in its FIR, had arrayed AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd, its directors Arvind Kumar Jayaswal, Manoj Jayaswal, Ramesh Jayaswal and Devendra Darda, son of Vijay Darda, along with unknown public servants in the Coal Ministry and other unknown persons as accused in the case.

Regarding AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd, the CBI had said in its FIR that the firm, in its application form for allocation of coal blocks, had “fraudulently” concealed the fact that its group companies had previously been allocated five coal blocks.

Detailing the allocation of coal blocks to AMR, the agency had said the Coal Ministry had invited applications for allocation of blocks, including Bander in Maharashtra, having geological reserves of 126.105 million tonnes.

The CBI had said the 36th Screening Committee, which is headed by the Coal Secretary, after concluding its deliberations on July 3, 2008, recommended allocation of Bander coal block jointly to JK Cement Ltd, Century Textiles and Industries Ltd and AMR for their proposed plants in Karnataka and Maharashtra, respectively.

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