Another leader from Seemandhra is caught red-handed in a major scam. Veteran Tollywoood director, Dasari Narayana Rao, who served as minister of coal, has now been named by CBI in Coal scam.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a first information report accusing Congress MP Naveen Jindal and the former minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao of fraud and corruption in the allocation of a coal block. “It is alleged that two steel and iron companies based in Delhi — Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge — misrepresented facts to get coal blocks. Also, there was alleged investment in a Hyderabad-based company, Sowbhagya Media, by the group of companies,” a CBI spokesperson said.
A company owned by former and current directors of the Naveen Jindal Group, and then by Jindal himself (Jindal Realty), gave an unsecured loan of Rs 2.25 crore in 2008 to a trading firm (ND Exim), which used it to buy new shares at Rs 112.5 apiece, about four times the market price (Rs 28) on that day on the BSE, of a company (Sowbhagya Media) owned by Rao. “We have lodged an FIR. We are also investigating the contents of ET report in April in this regard. Further probe is on,” said CBI Director Ranjit Sinha.
The CBI conducted raids at 19 locations in Delhi and Hyderabad on Tuesday, including at Jindal’s residence at 6, Prithviraj Road, and his offices. The three companies have been named an accused in the CBI FIR along with Jindal Steel & Power Limited and Gagan Sponge, which were allotted Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand in 2008.
Jindal, who is in London, will be questioned on his return while Rao will be summoned for questioning soon though he has earlier been examined by the CBI in a separate case of coal block allocation, a senior official said.
[With inputs from Economic Times]