Coal scam: CBI questions Jayaswals

The CBI today quizzed four members of the Jayaswal family in connection with coal block allocation scam in which all of them have been named in three cases.

CBI sources said Manoj, Arvind, Anand and Abhishek Jayaswal appeared for questioning around 11 am and were questioned for nearly seven hours. They said first all were questioned individually about coal block allocations to AMR Iron and Steel, JAS Infrastructure, JLD Yavatmal, and their association with owner of Lokmat Group Vijay Darda.

Later, they were called together and asked about discrepancies in their statements given earlier. Sources said, the agency would also question Congress MP Vijay Darda, his brother Rajendra and son Devendra in connection with the case.

Darda has denied all the allegations against him. While Manoj, owner of Abhijeet Group, has been named by CBI in three cases of alleged irregularities in coal block allocation made to AMR Iron and Steel, JAS Infrastructure and JLD Yavatmal Power, his brother Arvind has been named in case against AMR Iron and Steel.

Anand and Abhishek have been named in cases against JAS Infrastructure and JLD Yavatmal Power. In the three cases in which the Jayaswals figure, the CBI has slapped allegations of cheating and misrepresentation of facts to grab coveted coal blocks against the companies.

The CBI in its investigation has found that the companies have allegedly given wrong information in their applications claiming they were not in possession of any coal blocks and inflated their networth to show eligibility for them.