Coalgate: CBI questions PM’s advisor TKA Nair

22 Mar 2014

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The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is looking into the irregularities in the allocation of coal mines to various companies, on Friday questioned T K A Nair, advisor to prime minister Manmohan Singh, in connection with the granting of a coal block to Hindalco at Talabira despite the coal ministry rejecting its application.

CBI sources said the agency has sought information from Nair on various issues, including those on coal policy and allocation of coal blocks when the prime minister was in charge of the coal ministry between 2006 and 2009.

The agency had earlier sent a detailed questionnaire to Nair on the delay in auctioning of coal blocks, missing coal files and events leading to the Talabira coal block being given to Hindalco in which the CBI has registered a case against the then coal secretary P C Parakh and chairman of Aditya Birla Group Kumar Mangalam Birla.

CBI had sent a detailed questionnaire to Nair to which he has replied.

The agency has already examined two former PMO officials, Vini Mahajan and Ashish Gupta, who were posted in the PMO between 2006 and 2009.

The CBI would now be informing the Supreme Court about the replies sent by Nair.

Mahajan, a 1987-batch IAS officer from Punjab cadre, was a director with the PMO during the period and has is now back in the state as a principal secretary-level officer. Gupta, an IPS-officer of 1989-batch from Uttar Pradesh cadre, who was the vigilance officer in the PMO, has also gone back to the state cadre.

CBI will be filing its final reports in five coal scam cases before 26  March.

CBI has so far filed 16 FIRs, which included those against AMR Iron and Steel, JLD Yavatmal Energy, Vini Iron and Steel Udyog, JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, Grace Industries, 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 Nav Bharat Power Private Limited.

These FIRs relate to coal block allocation between 2006 and 2009, 1993 and 2004 and projects given by the government without following a proper allocation criteria.

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