Congress MP Naveen Jindal and ex-Minister of State for Coal, Dasari Narayan Rao have been accused by the CBI of cheating and graft in connection to the coal scam.

The CBI said they carried out searches at 15 locations including the residence and offices of Jindal in Delhi and Rao in Hyderabad.

The CBI has also booked the companies Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and Gagan Sponge who were allotted the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in 2008.

Jindal's companies Jindal Realty and ND Exim, and Rao's company Saubhagya Media have also been booked. for criminal conspiracy, cheating and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

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Delhi Police say Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra admitted that he placed bets in the IPL and even lost money after he bet on his own team.

He admitted he bet through bookie Umesh Goenka.

Kundra is a British national with businesses in Dubai, Ukraine and Botswana.

Kundra is the second IPL team owner after Chennai Super Kings' Gurunath Meiyappan. Reports say if the charges against the two are proved, the BCCI could suspend their teams from the IPL.

Police have also seized Kundra's passport to prevent him from leaving the country till the spot-fixing probe is over.

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The Economic Offences Unit team of the Bihar Police were surprised when they recovered a silver pressure cooker during raids on government engineer Awadesh Kumar Mandal's home.

The team also found three silver spitoons, diamond ornaments as well as investments and properties worth millions of rupees.

The team was raiding residences and offices of three state government officials at the time.

Needless to say Mr Mandal is going to let off some steam.

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Shortly after PM Manmohan Singh pledged to crack down on defence corruption, India's military unveiled a new arms acquisition policy aimed at weeding out corruption in the defence sector.

The defence ministry said the new policy will seek the 'highest standard of transparency' in arms purchases, and to balance the competing requirements of expediting capital procurement and high standards of transparency, probity and public accountability.

The new policy will give first right of refusal to Indian vendors.

India is currently negotiating a series of huge procurement contracts, including for fighter jets, combat helicopters, artillery, drones and electronic warfare systems.

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Back in 1873 five persons were given 2350 sq. mt of land in Mazgaon at a cost of Rs.1.53 rent a year. That lease expired in 1972, but the collector continued to collect the rent set 140 years ago. Later in 1885 three people leased 1814 sq.mt in Byculla. The lease lapsed in 1994, but the amount collected continues to be Rs.5.65 a year.

Then there is Prithvi Cotton Mills who leased 1,597.83 sq.mt in Malabar and Cumbala Hill, for which the lease expired in 1996 but the rent stands at Rs.4.98 a year.

In Matunga three others leased a 1,672.25 sq.mt property and again despite the lease ending in 1998 a pittance of just Rs.1 yearly rent continued to be charged.

Notwithstanding all the obvious errors, the collectors office is ignorant about 103 properties that were similarly rented out for leases that were made decades ago. The collectors reasoned that there was a delay because the 1999 rent renewal policy of the state had been challenged and a fresh policy was set only in December 2012.

Since former central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi sought information under the RTI Act, it was found that the collectors caused some Rs.1550 and more in annual losses due to carelessness or corruption.

The huge mess is now being handled but Mr Gandhi says citizens must speak against the policy and protest before the government dispossesses people of their land and legitimate revenue and get the government to auction leases in Mumbai and all over Maharashtra that could generate a revenue stream of over Rs.25,000 crore annually.

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