The News Minute | December 12, 2014 | 14.49 pm IST
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a charge-sheet against former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and seven others in a coal block case involving Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd.
The CBI filed the charge-sheet before Special Judge Bharat Parashar, who posted the matter for Dec 22.
The CBI has booked Koda and seven others on various charges like cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case involves allocation of coal blocks to Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd. in Jharkhand's Rajhara town in which its directors and unknown public servants of the ministry of coal, the Jharkhand government and others were named as the accused in the first information report lodged in Sep 2012.
The other accused in the case are ex-coal secretary H.C. Gupta, former Jharkhand chief secretary A. K. Basu, Vini Iron and steel Udyog Ltd. director Vaibhav Tulsyan, two government officials - Basant Kumar Bhatacharya and Bipin Bihari Singh - and alleged middleman Vijay Joshi. Kolkata-based Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd has also be named an accused.
In its FIR, the CBI had alleged that the firm had applied for allocation of coal blocks, including Rajhara North (central and eastern) coal block in Jharkhand.
It had said that the company was not recommended by either the union steel ministry or the Jharkhand government. However, the then Jharkhand chief secretary, who had attended the 36th Screening Committee meeting on July 3, 2008, had signed its minutes recommending the allocation to the firm.
The CBI had alleged that the company had fraudulently claimed an inflated net worth and its ownership too had changed hands ahead of the 36th Screening Committee meeting.
The court in September had returned the charge-sheet filed by the CBI after it failed to adequately respond to the queries raised by the judge.
IANS