Coalgate scam: CBI shifts officer in charge of inquiry

Bhushan, who represents an NGO, had alleged Galhotra's relation was working with Jindal group which is an accused in coal scam

The CBI today shifted a key officer, who was incharge of the probe into the coal block allocation scam, in view of an allegation levelled against him in the Supreme Court, and appointed Additional Director R K Dutta in his place.

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha sent a letter to all the judges of the Supreme Court mentioning that Joint Director O P Galhotra, a 1985 batch IPS officer, would not be looking after any of the coal scam cases and Dutta has been given the task.

Sinha, who sent the letter in view of the allegations hurled at the CBI officer in the Supreme Court yesterday, assured the court that the investigation in the coal scam has been done in a fair and impartial manner.

The letter said the Joint Director had already rescused himself from the case in which his relative was working.

However, in view of the allegation made by lawyer Prashant Bhushan, the CBI Director accepted the offer of Galhotra for recusing himself from all coal scam-related cases and appointed Dutta, a 1981 batch IPS officer from Karnataka, to supervise all such cases.

Bhushan, who represents an NGO, had alleged Galhotra's relation was working with Jindal group which is an accused in the coal scam.

The CBI Director also made a suo-moto offer that all the Preliminary Enquiries, which ended up in closure, may be scrutinised by the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). CBI has already sent 25 cases to CVC seeking its opinion about the closure report filed in these cases.