CBI tipped off coal firms before the raid: Kejriwal

New Delhi: Social activist Arvind Kejriwal has sparked another controversy by claiming that the CBI had tipped off coal companies before carrying out raids on September 4 in connection with the alleged irregularities in coal blocks allocation.

"Just recd (received) mail from an officer in one of raided cos. They were informed 2 days in advance abt (about) raids and were asked to remove all material," Kejriwal tweeted.

Meanwhile, the CBI has issued an official reaction calling Kejriwal's allegations false and baseless.

Meanwhile, the CBI has issued an official reaction calling Kejriwal\'s allegations false and baseless.

Earlier, the CBI September 4 named Congress MP Vijay Darda in one of the FIRs filed in the alleged coal scam. The investigating agency carried out raids at 30 locations across the country and filed cases against five companies for alleged criminal conspiracy to get coal blocks by fudging their net worth figures and misrepresentation of facts. Darda's brother Rajendra, who is a Cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government, has also been named in one of the FIRs, CBI sources said.

Five companies - JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited, in which Darda was one of the Directors, JAS Infrastructure Capital Private Limited, AMR Iron and Steel, Navbharat Power Private Limited and Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Limited - with their 20 directors and unknown government officials have been named in the FIRs, the CBI sources said.

The raids were conducted in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Hyderabad, Dhanbad and Nagpur and premises of owners of some companies were also searched.

In its FIR on JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited, which bagged Fatehpur East Coal Block in Chhattisgarh, the CBI has named Vijay Darda along with his son Devendra and other former and present directors including Rajendra Darda, Manoj Jayaswal, Anand Jayaswal and Abhishek Jayaswal.

The CBI also booked Devendra Darda in another case which relates to alleged irregularities on the part of AMR Iron and Steel, which got Bander Coal Block in Maharashtra.

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