Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) appears to have brought the Rs 1800-crore Uliburu mining scam in Keonjhar again into focus by interrogating the brother of the prime accused in the case.
As the central agency intensified its probe in the case, prime accused Deepak Gupta and his brother Champak Gupta appeared before the ED in Bhubaneswar on Monday. The two were questioned by ED officials regarding certain aspects of the case allegedly involving money laundering, sources said.
It may be noted here that ED officials had raided 12 locations in Kolkata and Odisha around a fortnight ago as part of its investigation into the mining scam. The ED officials reportedly seized a luxury car, jewelleries worth Rs 1.24 crore, Rs 30 lakh cash and froze bank accounts with Rs 1.23 crore deposits.
Sources said the ED has moved the PMLA court seeking attachment of properties worth Rs 380 crore of the mining company.
It may be recalled that large-scale mining was carried out beyond the lease area of Uliburu mines under the Joda circle in Keonjhar district which had allegedly caused Rs 1800 crore loss to the state exchequer. Even minerals were extracted beyond permissible limits.
As per official record, the Uliburu iron mines were leased out to B K Mohanty. Investigations revealed that 46,19,633 MT of iron ore worth Rs 856.93 crore was extracted from the mines between 2000 and 2010.
However, taking into consideration the iron ore shipping challans, royalty and freight charges paid to the government, the scam was pegged at Rs 1800 crore.
Prime accused Deepak Gupta used to hold the power of attorney for the Uliburu Mines which were originally leased out to B K Mohanty. It was alleged that Gupta had unlawfully extracted iron ore outside the lease area – in 6-hectare Reserve Forest and 29-hectare of revenue forest which is under the Revenue department.
Following a hue and cry over the wanton loot of minerals, the Odisha government had ordered a vigilance probe into the Uliburu mining scam in June 2013 amid a growing demand for a CBI inquiry. Deepak was arrested by the state Vigilance sleuths on September 4, 2013, for his alleged involvement. Chargesheet was filed against 29 persons including the family members of Deepak Gupta.
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