New Delhi:
Ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda has been awarded three-year jail term and fined Rs 25 lakh in the Jharkhand Coal Scam by a special CBI court.
Koda was convicted on Friday in the case of illegal allocation of a coal block in Jharkhand to a Kolkata-based firm. Koda was found guilty in the case along with three others, including former secretary of the coal ministry HC Gupta, former chief secretary of Jharkhand AK Basu, and the private firm concerned Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd.
Dubbed the coal scam, the matter became a huge political controversy.
The coal scam had hit the headlines in 2012 after an audit by the national auditor revealed that the country has lost up to Rs 1.86 lakh crore due to inefficient allocation of coal blocks.
Madhu Koda and three others have been granted two months statutory interim bail to appeal in the High Court.
