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CBI may finalise chargesheets in 4 coal cases

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has completed a probe in four cases of the 14 First Information Reports (FIRs) it has registered so far, sources said. The agency, based on the Supreme Court’s directions, will consult its legal team now to finalise chargesheets in these cases. The CBI has not filed a single chargesheet in the coal scam till now.

According to sources, these four cases relate to the initial FIRs filed by CBI in the allocation scam. Because some coal files are missing, it would be difficult to file chargesheets in certain cases, CBI sources pointed out. The agency has registered two preliminary enquiries into the missing files.

The CBI is assessing how crucial some of these files are for the cases getting converted into chargesheets. Last September, the CBI had registered five cases against 20 accused including five private companies. Thereafter, the CBI has named high-profile accused including Naveen Jindal, chairman of Jindal Steel and Power, and Udit Rathi, chief executive of Rathi Steel and Power.

After three months of preliminary enquiry, which started earlier in June 2012, the agency registered FIRs against AMR Iron and Steel, JLD Yavatmal, Navbharat Power, Vini Iron and Steel and Jas Infrastructure under section 120B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy and cheating.

The CBI had alleged that Jas Infra (Kolkata), AMR (Nagpur) and JLD Yavatmal belonged to the same promoter. While applying for the coal blocks, they allegedly falsely declined to have been allocated any coal block earlier and forged figures to inflate their net worth, which was one of the criterias for the allocation.

Hyderabad-based Navbharat Power has also been laid with similar charges. The investigating agency found the company had attached many bank letters to its applications saying they were ready to take up such projects and how they later borrowed loans from banks to show they were financially sound.

Working on similar lines, Vini Iron and Steel of Kolkata was found to claim they had a tie up with 15 companies in order to increase their net worth. The CBI investigation revealed nine out of these denied having ever joined the group. The company had allegedly made the false claim to get the Rajhara North coal block.

Source: Business Standard