New Delhi: Former coal secretary HC Gupta, who is set to be questioned by CBI, has submitted his resignation to the government.
The resignation came soon after the Corporate Affairs Ministry gave its nod to CBI to question Mr Gupta in connection with the coal blocks allocation scam.
“Mr Gupta submitted his resignation yesterday and the same will be processed by the government,” a source said.
He was the Coal Secretary between 2006 and 2009, the period which is under the scanner for alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks.
Mr Gupta has been a member of fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) since 2009 and his tenure was to end to early next year.
Corporate Affairs Ministry, the administrative Ministry for the CCI, had earlier refused to grant permission to CBI to question Mr Gupta.
CBI, which is probing the coal block allocation scam, has registered 12 FIRs related to alleged irregularities in the allotment coal blocks between 2006 and 2009.
Meanwhile, CBI has asked Congress MP Naveen Jindal, who is currently abroad with his family, to join its probe in the allocation of a coal block to his company Jindal Steel and Power Limited(JSPL).
During searches, CBI was unable to complete its operation at Jindal’s 6-Prithviraj Road residence here as some of the cupboards and almirahs were in a locked condition and that they could only be unlocked by Jindal who was out of the country. (PTI)