In an important development to this ongoing war against corruption, which is affecting the coal sector in India, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has made some arrests of four persons, including a senior manager of the Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) in connection with a multi-crore coal scam in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. These arrests have followed a series of searches and an extensive investigation into reported anomalies in coal transportation, procurement and billing activities. The CBI, based on certain intelligence input, phased out a synchronized operation that resulted in the arrest of the CCL official and three private individuals claimed to be involved with the illegal coal transactions.
Sources who are close to the investigation said the arrested CCL manager was said to be part of manipulating coal records, facilitating fake billing and authorized expired coal dispatches in exchange for bribes. The fraud is said to have cost the government treasury a lot of money and posed queries on the accountability system of the undertakings in the government sector, such as CCL, which is part of Coal India Limited. The three other suspects are believed to have been middlemen and those private transporters who were used as a conduit in the illegal deals.
The CBI started the investigation based on internal complaints and on whistleblower reports on differences in coal stock registers and transportation records. There were allegations that there was illegal distribution of high-quality coal that was supposed to be supplied to industries through fraudulent documents and tilted weighbridges. Initial preparations depicted that many truckloads of coal had been shipped without necessary authorization, and in most instances, reports were either overridden or altered to conceal unauthorized shifts in coal.
After initial investigation, CBI officers carried out parallel searches in different places of the CCL official residence and the officer’s business premises belonging to the accused transporters. In the raids, the agency retrieved money, incriminating documents and electronic items that caused the agency to understand more about the network involved in the scam. The available evidence indicated that there was a well-established network of collaboration between CCL employees and the independent operators with the intention to steal coal and sell it to illegal buyers.
The arrests have created a domino effect in the region as the authorities have already broadened the investigation to look at the potential role of additional CCL officials and other local companies that work in the Hazaribagh and other local districts. Forensic auditing of the data on coal supply, digital records, and the cameras within the premises of the company is also yet to be done in order to determine every single point of violation and trace the line of responsibility.
Following this turn of events, the management of the CCL has indicated that it is fully supporting the said investigation and that whoever is found guilty is sure of stern measures. This has lifted once again the issue of corruption that exists deep-rooted in India coal distribution system where the measures of close supervision, computerization of records on dispatch as well as an independent check on coal movements have been demanded.
The arrested persons have been sent to custody with more investigations on them as the CBI proceeds to get more facts so that the whole conspiracy unfolds. The case is bound to find wide-ranging repercussions in the governance of coal in the region.
