Coal scam: CBI to close 2 PEs filed for missing files

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks during 1993-2009, is set to close two Preliminary Enquiries (PE) it lodged last September to probe how some key files and records went missing from the coal ministry.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks during 1993-2009, is set to close two Preliminary Enquiries (PE) it lodged last September to probe how some key files and records went missing from the coal ministry.

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“The two PEs lodged to probe the missing files will be closed soon. We are working towards it,” a senior CBI official told HT.

“The CBI preliminary investigations, so far, have not come across any evidence establishing any criminality on the part of coal ministry officials due to which the files could have gone missing,” the official said.

According to the official, the agency has decided to close the PEs since by now the coal ministry has furnished the files and records that were sought by the CBI. The PEs — filed against unknown persons on the basis of a communication from the coal ministry — was to establish if there was any criminality behind the missing status of the files.

The agency had earlier quizzed a few coal ministry officials attached to departments entrusted with the files’ custody. The CBI will have to inform the Supreme Court about the closure of the PEs.