More chargesheets in coal scam this week

Central Bureau of Investigation is readying to file another five chargesheets in the coal block allocation scam before the deadline of March 28 set by the Supreme Court. While a CBI official said the "endeavour is to file all the five chargesheets" in which investigation is over, the agency could seek more time if it is unable to do so. The SC bench will hear the matter of CBI's status report in the coal scam on March 28.

The agency has so far registered 16 FIRs and filed one chargesheet in the coal scam against Hyderabad-based Navbharat Power, its chairman P Trivikrama Prasad and vice-chairman Y Harish Chandra Prasad, on March 10.

CBI would update the apex court about the status of investigations in cases including its FIR against Kumar Mangalam Birla and coal secretary P C Parakh and Lok Sabha member Naveen Jindal. The agency had recently examined T K A Nair, advisor to Prime Minster Manmohan Singh, in connection to the coal block allocation scam through a written questionnaire. Nair was principal secretary to the Prime Minister from 2006-2009 when ManmohanSingh was handling the additional charge of the coal ministry.

The agency is likely to file more chargesheets against AMR Iron and Steel, JLD Yavatmal, Vini Iron and Steel and Jas Infrastructure for charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating. CBI had alleged that Jas Infra, Kolkata, Nagpur based AMR and JLD Yavatmal apparently belonged to the same promoter. While applying for the coalblocks, they falsely declined to have been located any coal block earlier and forged figures to inflate their net worth which was one of the criteria for the allocation.

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