A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Delhi on Wednesday held former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda guilty of criminal conspiracy in the Rajhara North coal block allocation scam, ANI reported. The court also convicted former Coal Secretary HC Gupta, former Jharkhand Chief Secretary Ashok Kumar Basu and one other accused in the case.
The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Thursday.
The case is related to the allocation of a coal block to the Kolkata-based Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd or Visul, NDTV reported. The CBI had told the court that the Jharkhand government and steel ministry did not recommend the allocation of the Rajhara coal block to Visul when the company applied for it in 2007.
However, Gupta, who headed the Screening Committee, recommended that the block be allocated to Visul later, the CBI alleged. He also did not inform Manmohan Singh, who was then the prime minister, that Jharkhand had not recommended they allocate the block to Visul.
The CBI argued that Koda, Gupta and two accused public servants – Basant Kumar Bhattacharya and Bipin Bihari Singh – conspired to favour Visul in the allocation. The accused have denied the charges against them.
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