Savitri, mother of billionaire industrialist-cum-Congress politician Naveen Jindal, was elected from Hisar in 2005 and 2009 and she was a minister in the outgoing Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government in the state. She lost the seat, the results for which were declared on Sunday, to BJP candidate Kamal Gupta by 13,646 votes.
Savitri Jindal is the chairperson of the multi-billion rupee OP Jindal group that has interests in steel, power and mining sectors. In 2008, she was named country’s richest woman by Forbes, a position which she has retained on the latest (October 2014) issue of the same magazine.
She was declared 12th in the list of India’s richest, with a net family worth of $6.4 billion (Rs.395 billion). The list includes industrialists Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani, NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and realtor K.P. Singh. While she was struggling with the poll swing since morning, the fresh complaint against her company created a further turmoil among the Jindals.
A CBI spokesperson said here on Sunday that it is the 36th FIR (fresh case against Jindals) in connection with its probe into the coal blocks scam. CBI sources said that the fresh case has been registered against Jindal Stripes Limited, Jindal Steel and Power Limited and unknown public officials for alleged criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Soon after registering the fresh case, we have carried out searches at four locations in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh. The case pertains to allocation of Gare Palma IV/1 coal block to Jindal Strips Limited and JSPL. There are allegations pertaining to irregular mining lease beyond the approved area, excess coal mining, sale of coal, sale of coal fines and rejects, irregular consumption of coal in new extension plants,’ CBI sources further said.
Earlier, Savitri accused the top officials of Zee News, including media mogul Subhash Chandra and CEO Samir Ahulwalia, of tarnishing her image by airing ‘false’ news in their channel. She alleged that the media group is portraying the Jindal family as dishonest and corrupt before the people of her constituency. In a complaint seeking action against them, Savitri has complained before the Election Commission of India (ECI) that the Zee News crew has been violating the model code of conduct repeatedly. She has named Chandra, BJP candidate from Hisar, Kamal Gupta, CEO Samir Ahluwalia, Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary and anchor Rubika Liyaquat. Savitri is the widow of OP Jindal, who was also a minister in the Hooda government and was killed in a helicopter crash in 2005.