New Delhi, June 11: The CBI today booked industrialist-turned-Congress MP Naveen Jindal and former central minister Dasari Narayan Rao in the coal allocation controversy, accusing them of a host of graft-related charges including a quid-pro-quo deal “camouflaged” as investment.

This is the first time that the agency, rapped by the Supreme Court last month for speaking like a “caged parrot” in the voice of its political master, has named a former minister in its probe into the alleged scam.

The agency also named “unknown” officials of the government’s screening committee in its FIR, its 12th in the case. “We registered the 12th FIR in the case in which both Jindal and Rao have been accused of criminal misconduct, conspiracy and cheating,” said a senior CBI official.

In the FIR, the agency accused three companies owned by Jindal — Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Gagan Sponge Iron Limited and Jindal Realty and ND Exim — and Rao’s Saubhagya Media of cheating and misrepresentation of facts in bagging the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand in 2008.

The agency said Rao, who was minister of state for coal then, received Rs 2.25 crore camouflaged as investment from one of Jindal's firm within a year of allocating him a coal block.

“A probe has revealed that Jindal’s company had allegedly invested about Rs 2 crore in a firm owned by Rao in exchange for being granted coal fields,” the CBI official said.

After registering the FIR, officers of the CBI’s anti-corruption branch fanned out for searches across 15 locations, including residences and offices of Jindal in Delhi and those of Rao in Hyderabad.

“In the FIR we have accused Jindal, Rao and the companies of hatching a criminal conspiracy and cheating and also slapped relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against them,” the official said, adding that the agency had collected documents during searches at Jindal’s 6 Prithviraj Road residence and offices of his firms in central Delhi.

A senior official of Jindal Steel and Power Limited said JSPL was a “law abiding” company governed by a “strong ethical” code of conduct. “This is an ongoing CBI investigation into coal block allocation. At this stage of investigation, JSPL is committed to fully cooperate with the CBI,” said Manu Kapoor, head of the company’s external affairs division.

Rao has already been quizzed by the agency in connection with the ongoing probe. Last year, as news of his suspected involvement surfaced, he had said in private circles that though he participated in some of the coal auction meetings, the final decision was made by PMO officials only. “We only did the postman’s job,” Rao had said.