CBI court convicts ex-coal secy, 5 others

A Delhi Court Friday convicted ex-coal secretary HC Gupta and five in a corruption case relating to allotment of coal blocks in West Bengal during the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime at the Centre.

Besides Gupta, Special CBI judge Bharat Parashar also held guilty private firm Vikash Metals and Power Limited (VMPL), ex-joint secretary in the Ministry of Coal (MoC) KS Kropha, who is still in service and then director in MoC KC Samria in the case.

Gupta has already been convicted before this in two other cases of coal block allocation in which he has been sentenced to jail for two and three years respectively. He is out on bail in both the cases. Kropha has also been convicted and sentenced to two years in another coal block allocation scam and out on bail.

Samria has already been convicted and sentenced to two years jail term in another case and has been out on bail.

All the convicted persons were taken into the custody on the order of the court and were sent to judicial custody till December 3 when Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar will hear the arguments on sentence which entails maximum punishment of seven years in jail. The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to VMPL. An FIR was lodged by the CBI in September 2012.

VMPL’s managing director Vikash Patni and authorised signatory Anand Mallick were also convicted. All have been held guilty for the offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant IPC sections.

Prosecutors said Gupta has been accused in 12 cases of alleged irregularities in coal block allocation scam. The CBI has filed charge sheets in connection with alleged irregularities in 40 cases of coal block allocations during the UPA-1 and UPA-2 regime.

The outcome of the ongoing elections in three northern states — the counting is scheduled on December 11 — will not only give an indication of the public mood ahead of the 2019 general elections, but will also have a bearing on the fate of much-hyped grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh, a state with the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats (80) which holds the key to government formation at the Centre.

The two dominant parties of UP, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), are said to be upset with the Congress for its refusal to enter into an alliance in three “bipolar” states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, where the grand old party is locked in a direct contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

With limited pockets of influence in these three states, SP and BSP have, in the past, cherrypicked a few seats, usually in the

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