Coal Scam: Ex-coal secy HC Gupta found guilty

A Delhi Court on Friday held former coal secretary H.C. Gupta, joint secretary K.S. Kropha, Krishnapatnam Security Services Pvt. Ltd (KSSPL) and its Managing Director (MD) P.K. Ahluwalia guilty of criminal conspiracy, in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of a Chhattisgarh based coal block to SKS Ispat and Power Ltd (SIPL).

They have also been found guilty of cheating and corruption for their role in allocation of Rudrapur coal block to KSSPL in Madhya Pradesh.

However, Chartered Account Amit Goyal who was also facing trial in the case got acquitted from all charges by the court.

Earlier in February, the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) granted bail to Gupta, Kropha, the firm, and its two directors Anil Gupta and Deepak Gupta, and three others -- Amit Singh, Rakesh Singh and Jagan Nath Panda.

The court had asked all of them to sign one lakh personal bail bond and deposit one lakh security amount.

The CBI has claimed in the final report that the accused hatched a criminal conspiracy to cheat the Screening Committee, in order to bag the mining contract for the Fatehpur Coal Block in Chattisgarh.

The probe agency charged the accused with forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct.

According to the CBI, SIPL had got Fatehpur coal block in Chhattisgarh in 2008. It said that the company misrepresented various aspects of preparedness and was ineligible on the issue of net worth. The CBI had registered FIR in the matter in 2014.

-ANI