An investigator in a coal block allocation scam has told a special court that order to file a closure report in the case was given by then CBI chief Ranjit Sinha whose role is under the scanner of a Supreme Court-appointed panel on whether his decisions had led to scuttling of probe or not.
The probe officer was recording his testimony as a prosecution witness in the case involving Madhya Pradesh-based Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL) and others in which the court had rejected CBI’s closure report and has been proceeding with the trial in the case.
The CBI had named KSSPL, its directors, Pawan, Kamaljeet Ahluwalia, Prashant Ahluwalia, Amit Goyal and some unknown public servants as accused in FIR for allegedly misrepresenting facts, including inflated net worth, to acquire coal blocks.
The officer told the court that after completing the
probe, he had submitted the report to his senior but the final order was received from the “competent authority” to close the case. On being asked by special CBI judge Bharat Parashar as to who was the “competent authority” referred by investigating officer (IO), DSP Sanjay Dubey said “Ranjit Sinha, the then director, CBI.”