The mighty Birla empire has come under attack with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booking Kumar Mangalam Birla. This is the 14th FIR filed in the controversial multi-crore coal block allocation scam. The CBI has booked Aditya Birla Group's Chairman along with former coal secretary P C Parikh for cheating, forgery and financial misrepresentation.

Cases have been booked against Hindalco, a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group and government sector aluminium manufacturer Nalco too. The national investigation agency has alleged that Mr. Birla and his company were shown undue favor in allotment of coal block in 2005.

The 46-year-old head honcho of the  reputed Aditya Birla group has booked for cheating and conspiracy, and will be called in for questioning, CBI sources said.  The investigating agency is conducting raids at the Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bhubaneswar offices of Hindalco.

Valued at more than 2 lakh crore, Aditya Birla's shares plummeted by 5%, making the company one the worst losers on the 50-share Nifty benchmark in morning trade. However, the company's representatives have denied the development.

AW: Suchorita Dutta Choudhury