Coalgate: CBI knocks at NDA door, BJP leader named in FIR

The CBI today brought under its scrutiny alleged irregularities in two allocations of coal blocks made during the NDA and United Front government, naming BJP leader Anup Agarwalla and his firm in one of the two FIRs lodged by it.
The investigating agency registered two FIRs covering the 1993-2005 period--one against BLA Industries Ltd, its Managing Director Anup Agarwalla and unknown public servants and private persons and second against M/s Castron Technologies, M/s Castron Mining, their directors, unknown public servants and private persons.
Anup Agarwalla, son of former Rajya Sabha MP P K Agarwalla, is permanent invitee to Jharkhand State Working Committee of BJP and special invitee to party's national executive.

Calls and email queries made by PTI seeking response from the firms and Agarwalla did not elicit any response. One of Agarwalla's associates, who answered his mobile phone and identified himself as S K Shukla, said the BJP leader was not available for any comments on the matter.
CBI has alleged in its FIR that BLA Industries, which has its registered office in Mumbai, got two coal blocks in Madhya Pradesh and was selling coal in the open market. The worth of coal being sold in open market was at least Rs 100 crore annually, official sources claimed.
The company had been allocated two coal blocks--Gotitoria (East) and Gotitoria (West) in Mahapani coalfields of Madhya Pradesh--for use in power plant to be set up by them, they said.

The CBI alleged that the company entered into an alleged criminal conspiracy with unknown public officials of Coal Ministry and changed its end-use. They later got the permission to sell the coal from the fields in open market from the ministry, the sources claimed.

The firm had got coal blocks on June 21, 1996, during the tenure of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
In its second FIR naming Kolkata-based Castron Mining and Jharkhand-based Castron Technologies, its directors, unknown public servants and private persons, CBI alleged the coal block was allocated in violation of existing guidelines.
Castron Mining Ltd (formerly Castron Technologies Ltd) has got Brahmadiha coal blocks under Giridih coalfields of Jharkhand for use in manufacturing of Iron and Steel. The coal block was allocated on September 1, 1999, during the BJP government's tenure.