A special court convicted five persons, including former Union Coal Secretary HC Gupta and a firm, Vikas Metal Power Ltd, in connection with alleged irregularities in the coal block allocation case on Friday.

The court held all of them guilty of criminal conspiracy under multiple sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, after which the accused were taken into custody.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to Vikas Metal Power Ltd. Gupta, who is said to have played a major role in the scam, has allegedly cleared at least 40 cases of coal mining rights in the past.

The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on December 3.

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