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Coal scam case: IAS officers feel betrayed by H C Gupta conviction

They feel coal and 2G scams show how they've been scapegoats while political masters walk free

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<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-121943089/stock-photo-embers-close-up.html" target="_blank">Image</a> via Shutterstock

Subhomoy Bhattacharjee
The conviction of former coal ministry secretary Harish Chandra Gupta in one of the so called “coal scam” cases makes it the first among them where a government employee has been successfully prosecuted -- that too a secretary-level officer. Along with him, former joint secretary in the ministry, K C Kropha, and the then director, K C Samaria have also been convicted. It has also become a test case to decide to what extent a government officer should take the rap for taking decisions on competing commercial interests.

From the list of 204 coal mines or blocks allocated by the