Among the five companies named in the FIR registered on Tuesday is JLD Yavatmal, which is said to be linked to the Darda family. The FIR accuses the Dardas of criminal conspiracy and misrepresentation of fact in securing the coal blocks in Chhattisgarh.
The Darda brothers, in association with the Abhijeet Group, also named in the FIR, planned to set up a thermal power project in Yavatmal for which they got the coal blocks. The project, named after Dardas' father Jawaharlal Darda, never took off.
"It is a good thing that the CBI is probing the (coal block allocation) case and I will face an inquiry if the CBI approaches me," Darda, whose absence from Tuesday's meeting of the Maharashtra cabinet had set off speculations about his resignation, said.
Several Bharatiya Janata Party workers led by city unit president Laxam Savaji staged a demonstration in front of Kalidas Kala Mandir, the venue of the function, to demand Darda's resignation after registration of an FIR against him.
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