The CBI on Thursday registered a fresh case of cheating, conspiracy and corruption in the coal block allocation scam against unknown officials of public sector undertaking Karnataka Power Corporation limited (KPCl) and two private firms for allegedly violating joint venture conditions to give pecuniary gains to private partners.
The KPCl was allocated six coal blocks Kiloni, Manora Deep, and Baranj I-IV located in Maharashtra in 2003 under the NDA regime. The agency also conducted searches at one location each in Bangalore, New Delhi, Kolkata and Nagpur in connection with the case.
Sources said that besides KPCl, unknown officials of the joint venture firm Karnataka EMTA Coal Mine ltd., Bangalore, EMTA, and erstwhile Gupta Coal Fields and Washeries ltd. (now known as Gupta Global Resources Pvt. ltd.) have been mentioned as accused in the 39th FIR in the coal scam.
The unknown officials of the PSU and the accused private companies have been booked under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC and under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI FIR has alleged that the officials of the State PSU KPCl, which had been allocated coal block, had shown undue favour to joint venture partner by deliberately ignoring and overlooking the condition of JV relating to certification of the quality of the coal by an independent agency.
The agency further alleged that the JV company Karnataka EMTA Coal Mine limited in conspiracy with the private company engaged in washing of coal had sold the rejects in violation of the Coal Ministry guidelines.