Prominent steel, sponge iron and mining companies are found to be allegedly involved in illegal removal and transporation of minerals in Orissa. Shockingly, these companies were using the railway rakes for shifting of the booty from Orissa to neighbouring states and to ports at Paradip, Visakhapatnam and Haldia for exports.
Orissa police have booked 48 companies and individuals for illegal procurement and transporation of minerals worth about Rs 54.50 crore by using railway rakes.
The companies and individuals allegedly involved in the illegal activities include Essel Minings, Rungta Mines, Visa Steel, Adhunik Metaliks, Jai Balaji Industries Ltd, MSP Metaliks, Kesav Minerals, Triveni Earth Movers, Ankit Metaliks, SPS Steel & Power, Sameleswar Ferro Metaliks, MAP Mines & Minerals, Jharkhand Ispat, Rashmi Metalicks, Abhijit Choudhry, KJS Alhuwalia, Indrani Patnaik and Sarat Kumar Kodia.
Acting on an FIR filed by the deputy director (mines) Joda, Umesh Chandara Jena, the Keonjhar district police on Saturday arrested 48 representatives involved in such activities. As many as 60 rakes of minerals had been shifted from the state between January 1 and 22 this year. The railway sidings at Barbil, Bansapani and Jurudi had been used for loading of these rakes.
?The 48 representatives of companies and the individuals arrested were forwarded to the court, which has remanded them to judicial custody?, Keonjhar SP Asish Singh told FE. Documents were forged to facilitate the transportation by rail, according to Keonjhar district police chief. ?The persons who have been arrested were authoritised signatories of the 48 companies. Subsequently, the steel and mines department will proceed against the companies as per law,? Singh said.
The huge illegal procurement and transportation also resulted in evasion of royalty and taxes to the exchequer. Singh said about 60 rakes were transported illegally during the particular period.
Earlier, Keonjhar police had nabbed four persons on similar charges, taking the total number of arrest to 52.
