Coal scam case: Gondwana Ispat Ltd Director sentenced to four-year jail, fined Rs 1 crore

CBI had claimed that in 2001, Daga applied for the allotment of Warora West coal block in Maharashtra to set up 1.2 lakh tonne per annum washery cum sponge iron plant. Based on an earlier application made in 2000, M/s GIL requested MoC to examine the allotment of Majra-Belgaon coal blocks which had a reserve of 8 to 10 million tonnes as an alternate to the Warora North coal block.

The application was considered in 2003 and the agency reserved Majra coal block for M/s GIL subject to certain conditions.

During investigation, CBI had further claimed that in 2003, Daga filed an undertaking to MoC stating his intentions to either install a plant or to develop a coal mine. According to CBI, Daga earned a huge profit in 2005 by selling off the company to Nand Kishore Sarda.

An FIR was lodged in 2014 and CBI had alleged in the chargesheet that Daga had made “unsubstantiated claim even towards financial preparedness and tie up regarding iron ore with Odisha government”.

(With PTI inputs)