Coalgate: CBI quizzes Gupta, summons Jindal

It was during H C Gupta's tenure that JSPL & Gagan Sponge Iron allegedly misrepresented fact for allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal block in Jharkhand

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the alleged irregularities in coal allocation, today questioned former coal secretary H C Gupta and sent a notice to Congress Lok Sabha member and industrialist Navin Jindal and the Jindal group.

The agency had raided the office and residential premises of Jindal, who is now abroad. Jindal, chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), is expected to return to India by the end of this month.

The agency quizzed Gupta for five hours in relation to the  allocations during his tenure as coal secretary in 2008. It is learnt that Gupta had recommended allocations to AMR Iron and Steel, Jas Infra and JLD Yavatmal. All three companies are facing a CBI probe after a case was registered against them in September 2012. Gupta, who as the coal secretary also headed the  screening committee when the ministry was under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is likely to face the heat on these allocations. He recently resigned as member, Competition Commission of India.

It was during Gupta’s tenure in 2008 that JSPL and Gagan Sponge Iron allegedly misrepresented facts for the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal block in Jharkhand.

CBI had sought the permission of the corporate affairs ministry to question Gupta.

In an earlier press statement, CBI had said there were “presentations and connivance, a lack of due diligence on the part of public servants” for allocating coal blocks.

The agency had recently recorded the statements of two former Prime Minister’s Office officials--Vini Mahajan and Ashish Gupta--as witnesses in this case.

The preliminary CBI enquiry revealed that Kolkata-based Jas Infra, Nagpur-based AMR and JLD Yavatmal apparently belonged to the same promoter. While applying for the blocks, they falsely claimed about not having been allocated any coal block earlier and forged figures to inflate their net worth, which was one of the criteria for allocation. A CBI official said the companies signed memoranda of understanding for short durations to add other companies’ equity to increase their financial strength.

The investigation agency recently registered an FIR in this regard against government functionaries, including former minister of state for coal Darsari Narayana Rao, along with five private companies, including JSPL and Gagan Spone Iron, on charges such as cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct.