CBI gives clean chit to Vijay Darda now

The allegations against Darda and his company, which bagged Fatehpur East Coal Block in Chhattisgarh, was that it had entered into a criminal conspiracy with coal ministry officials and provided wrong information in their applications while applying for coal blocks.

In its closure report on JLD Yavatmal Energy, the CBI concluded that during the course of investigations, ‘no evidence could be gathered to prove prima-facie commission of offence under sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and 420 (cheating)’ against the company, its directors or any other public or private person.

‘Further no evidence of any malafide association or quid pro quo between the accused company and public servant has surfaced during the course of investigation,’ the CBI said in its report to the Special CBI court here requesting for acceptance of the closure report ‘due to insufficient evidence’.

Meanwhile, tightening the noose on Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, CBI sleuths will next week quiz the industrialist as he is named in the FIR in the scam. Officials of Hindalco, which is a part of the group, have already been examined by CBI.

The agency also questioned former coal secretary PC Parakh last week. Meanwhile, former coal minister Dasari Narayan Rao has also been questioned by the CBI in connection with the coal blocks allocation case. Rao has been accused of favouring Hindalco in allocation of coal blocks and is likely to be questioned again in the coming days.

Soon after Birla was named in the FIR last year, he had held a series of meetings with finance minister P Chidambaram although the subjects of discussion were not disclosed in the open. CBI had in last month completed the questioning of former principal secretary to PM Manmohan Singh and his now key adviser, TKA Nair.