 "Kumar Mangalam Birla meets Law Minister Kapil Sibal")
Hindalco Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, who is named in the FIR in the alleged coal block allocation scam, today met Law and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal.
Birla, who is also chairman of Idea Cellular, did not offer any comment on the meeting. He had met Finance Minister P Chidambaram two weeks ago.
The CBI had named Birla and former Coal Secretary P C Parakh in its FIR charging them with criminal conspiracy and corruption in connection with alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks eight years ago.
The investigating agency alleged in its FIR that after rejection of Hindalco's plea in 2005, Birla wrote two letters and held a "personal meeting" with then Coal Secretary Parakh, after which a decision was reversed and Hindalco was given a coal block that was meant for two public sector undertakings -- Mahanadi Coal Fields and Neyveli Lignite.