The Central Bureau of Investigation today carried out searches in five cities after registering a fresh case against Jharkhand Ispat Pvt Ltd for alleged irregularities in the allotment of coal blocks.
According to CBI sources, Jharkhand Ispat, a company belonging to RC Rungta Group, was allotted North Dhadu coal block on January 13, 2006 for its sponge iron plant.
The agency had detected several irregularities in the allotment after which a case was filed against it and unknown public officials.
The sources said details of the FIR could not be revealed as searches were still going on at Varanasi, Hazaribagh, Kolkata, Ranchi and Delhi. An e-mail sent to the company seeking reaction remained unanswered.
The CBI has so far registered 10 FIRs, including this, in connection with the coal scam. The agency had earlier also booked some companies for alleged cheating, forgery and misrepresentation of facts in their applications for coal blocks.