CBI to give coalgate status report to SC today

NEW DELHI: The CBI will give its status report to the Supreme Court in the coal scam on Tuesday. The agency, sources said, will inform the top court that it has examined almost all companies which had bagged coal blocks and it was in the process of finalizing the investigation. Sources added that there was a possibility that no more FIRs would be registered but a final decision would be taken after proper legal scrutiny.

About the Talabira II coal block allocation, in which former coal secretary P C Parakh and industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla are accused, the agency will inform the court that it has examined persons associated with the allocation but its investigation was continuing and it would take some more time. CBI had recently interrogated Parakh for two days.

Sources told TOI that there was "insufficient evidence" in the Hindalco case and it could be closed very soon.

CBI has already closed four FIRs in the case and it had informed the Supreme Court last month that it was in favour of closing probes in 22 allocations, which are now being further re-examined by CVC.

Agency had already completed field inquiries pertaining to around 150 companies and most of the remaining documents are being verified, said sources. The companies booked by agency so far include AMR Iron and Steel, JLD Yavatmal Energy, Vini Iron and Steel Udyog, JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, Vikash Metals, Grace Industries, Gagan Sponge, Jindal Steel and Power, Rathi Steel and Power Ltd, Jharkhand Ispat, Green Infrastructure, Kamal Sponge, Pushp Steel, Hindalco, BLA Industries, Castron Technologies and Castron Mining and others.

CBI has also closed the two enquiries related to missing coal files after it received the relevant files. CBI did not find any evidence to suggest criminality or intentional act on part of coal ministry officials to withhold files from the investigating agency.

Recently, while filing its chargesheet against Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda and Manoj Jayaswal of Nagpur based Abhijeet Group and his company AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd, CBI had claimed that Congress MP had influenced the decision to give Bander coal block to AMR. CBI charged Dardas and Jayaswal for cheating, criminal conspiracy and prevention of corruption act. Sources say "Vijay Darda had written a letter to Prime Minister's Office recommending coal block to AMR, which was a false recommendation", which was made part of the chargesheet.