The Indian government has initiated a probe into the country's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Nitin Gadkari's company following recent media reports that many of the 18 firms that have invested in his company are shrouded in mystery, highly placed sources said Thursday.

"The Corporate Affairs Ministry has begun a discreet probe into the companies that have invested in the BJP President's Purti Power and Sugar Ltd. The probe is meant to check if the investor companies have suppressed facts. Soon, the Ministry's special frauds unit may be roped into the investigation," the sources said.

Local TV channels have been recently reporting about the alleged corruption into Gadkari's company. The reports claim that several of the 18 companies that have invested in Purti group have given fictitious addresses and several of these companies are headquartered at the same room in Mumbai, pointing to the strong possibility of shell investors.

The BJP President has denied any wrongdoing, saying he stepped down as the company's chairman last year. He had even said that he was ready to face a probe into the allegations of wrongdoing in business deals, which have now cast a shadow on his unprecedented second term as BJP President.

However, senior BJP leaders have come out in support of the party chief.

BJP's Leader of Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament) Sushma Swaraj said, "Gadkari has categorically stated that there is no wrongdoing and has offered himself for a probe. It is unjust and unfair to accept these allegations as true without a probe. We, the members of BJP, trust our President and stand firmly behind him."