Spokesperson: Shri K. Raju: Congress Working Committee permanent invitee Shri K. Raju and Adivasi Congress President Dr Vikrant Bhuria termed the scam “Singrauli Files” and demanded a court-monitored CBI probe into the matter.

He alleged that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh facilitated coal mining through fraudulent clearances in Singrauli by allowing fake Gram Sabhas and using the thumb impressions of deceased persons to obtain consent for an Adani Group company’s coal mining project.

They said that RTI documents and death certificates reveal that fake Gram Sabha resolutions were prepared to grant clearance to Stratatech Mineral Resources Pvt. Ltd., an Adani Group company, for mining in the Dhirauli coal block.

Citing a few examples, Shri Vikrant Bhuria said that the thumb impression of Brijbhan Singh, who died in 2014, appeared on a Gram Sabha register dated November 2021, while Phuleshwari Singh, who died in 2018, was also shown as having consented in the 2021 proceedings. He alleged that several other deceased persons’ thumb impressions were similarly used to secure approval for diversion of forest land and mining activities. He pointed out that tribal leaders Sumaru Singh and Sonmati Singh, who have opposed the project and usually sign documents because they are educated, were falsely shown as having affixed thumb impressions in the Gram Sabha records.

Raju alleged that the BJP government had consistently prioritised corporate interests over the constitutional rights of tribal communities. He said that these actions violated the provisions of the Forest Rights Act, the PESA Act, and the land acquisition and rehabilitation law enacted during the UPA government, which mandated Gram Sabha consent and social impact assessment in Scheduled Areas.

The Congress demanded registration of FIRs against the officials and companies involved in the forgery, an immediate halt to mining operations in the disputed coal block until the investigation is completed, and a CBI inquiry into the reported irregularities. Thursday, July 9, 2026