Coal scam: CBI registers five cases, names Congress MP Vijay Darda

CBI today carried out raids in 30 locations across the country after filing cases against five companies for alleged criminal conspiracy to get coal blocks by fudging their net worth figures and misrepresentation of facts and named Congress MP Vijay Darda in one of the FIRs.

Five companies--JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited, in which Darda was one of the Directors, JAS Infrastructure Capital Private Limited, AMR Iron and Steel, Navbharat Power Private Limited and Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited--with their 20 directors and unknown government officials have been named in the FIRs, CBI sources said.

The filing of cases and raids come in the midst of a raging controversy over the CAG report on the coal block allocation that has stalled Parliament for more than two weeks.

However, CBI said the action has nothing to do with CAG report and has been in the pipeline for quite some time.

The raids were conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Hyderabad, Dhanbad and Nagpur and searched premises of owners of some companies.

"The cases have been registered in connection with the allegations related to getting coal blocks allocated on the basis of misrepresentations and false claims in the applications, presentations and connivance or lack of due diligence on part of public servants.

"Promoters of some of these companies have allegedly sold their stakes in an irregular manner after allocation of coal blocks," the agency said in a release.

CBI sources said in one of the FIRs, Darda's name figures as a director in JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited which got Fatehpur East Coal Block in Chhattisgarh as part of the alleged criminal conspiracy by misrepresentation facts on the eligibility conditions.

In its FIR on JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited, which bagged Fatehpur East Coal Block in Chhattisgarh, CBI has named Darda along with his son Devendra and other former and present directors including Rajendra Darda, Manoj Jayaswal, Anand Jayaswal and Abhishek Jayaswal.

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