Government officials and individuals are also being raided in 10 cities including Calcutta, Mumbai and Delhi.
A recent report by government auditors said the country lost $33bn (£20bn) by selling coalfields cheaply.
The raids come even as the government has rejected the opposition demand to cancel the sale of the coalfields.
The parliament has been deadlocked over demands by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the government should cancel the sale and order an independent probe into the matter.
Although the report by government auditors has exonerated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP leaders say he must step down as he was heading the coal ministry at the time of the sale.
Mr Singh denies any wrongdoing and has refused to quit.
On Tuesday morning, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered five cases for alleged cheating against five companies, various individuals and officials and begun conducting raids at 30 locations.
Officials, however, say the CBI inquiry in the alleged corruption in allocation of coalfields began before the government auditors report came out last month.
But correspondents say the timing of the raids suggests an attempt by the beleaguered government to be seen as doing something on the sale that has become increasingly controversial.
The issue has resulted in a deadlock in the parliament the since 21 August, and the ongoing session is due to end on 8 September.
Over the weekend, the BJP said it would allow the parliament to function if the government cancelled the sales of 142 coal blocks and ordered a probe.
However, the government has not relented to those demands and has said that it is looking into the matter.
"The demand for cancellation of all 142 coal blocks... is not founded on sound logic... It [cancellation] cannot be done through diktat or arbitrary orders," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Monday.
"There is a procedure for it and that procedure is underway," he said.
The sale of coalfields has been dubbed "Coalgate" by the opposition.
India is one of the largest producers of coal in the world.
The auditors' report on the sale of coal is the latest in a series of financial scandals to hit the Congress-led government, and the revelations have caused public anger.
No comments:
Post a Comment