New Delhi, June 11
The CBI today registered cases against former Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao and industrialist-Congress MP Naveen Jindal for alleged cheating in coal allocations. The agency also conducted raids at official and residential places of Jindal and the minister in Delhi and elsewhere.

The 13th FIR in the coal scam was registered today following which the agency carried out searches at 19 places, including Delhi and Hyderabad.

The CBI spokesman said, “The agency has registered a case under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC and Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Dasari Narayan Rao, Naveen Jindal, four Delhi-based private firms, one Hyderabad-based private firm and others, in connection with alleged irregularities in the allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.”

The CBI alleged: “Two steel and iron companies based in Delhi misrepresented facts to get coal blocks. Also, there was alleged investment in a Hyderabad-based firm from the group of companies based at Delhi.”

A preliminary inquiry to examine irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks during 2006-2009 was registered on reference of the CVC in June 2012. Earlier, the CBI had registered 12 cases in connection with the allocations, the agency said.

The agency team carried out coordinated searches at the 6-Prithviraj Road residence of Jindal and offices of his firms in Bikaji Cama. Besides Jindal and Rao, the agency has also booked Jindal Steel and Power Limited and Gagan Sponge, which were allotted Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Birbhum, Jharkhand, in 2008. They misrepresented facts for getting coal blocks, sources said.