The CBI has registered a fresh case against a Chhattisgarh-based company in connection with alleged misrepresentation of facts in its application for seeking coal blocks and carried out searches at 11 locations across the country.
CBI sources said Pushp Steels Pvt ltd and its directors Atul and Sanjay Jain have been named in the new FIR taking the total number of cases in the coal allocation scam to 11.
Following the registration of cases, the agency carried out searches at the offices of the company and premises of its directors in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, Narwana in Haryana and Ajmeri Gate and Punjabi Bagh localities in the national Capital. According to the FIR the company got mining lease without any prior experience or requisite capital required for starting mining operations.
The agency had earlier booked some companies for alleged cheating, forgery and misrepresentation of facts in their applications for coal blocks. last year, the Central Vigilance Commission had entrusted CBI to probe into a complaint filed by BJP leader Prakash Javadekar with regards to alleged irregularities in the allotment of coal mines for captive use.
The CVC had also asked the CBI to probe the role of the officials in the Prime Minister’s Office besides those in the Coal Ministry who had allocated coal blocks to dubious firms between 2006 and 2009. During the period, the Coal Ministry was headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a large number of companies bagged coal blocks in contravention existing procedures. These 11 FIRs relate to bogus allocation of coal blocks between 2006 and 2009.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has said that 142 coal fields allocated between 2004 and 2009 allowed beneficiaries to make staggering benefits of up to Rs 1.86 lakh crore as mining rights were given at undervalued rates instead of using auction route.