Coalgate: CBI team raids Ahluwalia house, office in Rourkela

Rourkela: As part of the crackdown on mining establishments under the ongoing investigation into the coal scam, sleuths of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from New Delhi conducted raids on the residence and offices of leading mine owner and sponge iron maker Prashant Ahluwalia here today.

The CBI sleuths also raided the head office of KJS Ahluwalia & Co at the mineral-rich Barbil in Keonjhar district. The Delhi office of KJS Ahluwalia & Co and its factory premises at Satna in Madhya Pradesh were among the 16 company establishments raided simultaneously today following allegations of irregularities, sources said.

A company spokesperson, however, made light of today’s raids saying it was part of a nationwide exercise and the company had nothing to fear. “It was a routine raid and we fully cooperated with the CBI officers. We have no reason to panic because we have not done anything wrong,” he told PBD over phone.

In Bhubaneswar, the Director of Mines Deepak Mohanty clarified that today’s raids on the Ahluwalias had nothing to do with the ongoing probe into irregularities in iron ore and manganese mines in the state. “The state government is in no way concerned with today’s raid and the CBI has not sought any information from us. Ahluwalias have not been allotted any coal block in the state nor are they part of the ongoing probe into the iron ore mining,” Mohanty said.

CBI sleuths searched his house at DD-2, Civil Township, Rourkela and his offices in Rourkela. The simultaneous raid lasted about four hours from 11 am in the morning, sources said. CBI officials, however, were tight-lipped about the raid and did not reveal if any incriminating documents were seized during the raid.