Kalinganagar: Police at Jakhpura is accused of playing hide and seek even four days after a fresh case was filed by an activist, based on a court order, in the case of recovery of iron ore stocks near the railway siding here three years ago.
The iron ore stocks were found buried near the railway siding in 2015. The Jakhpura police simply registered a case and made no effort to arrest the accused. The accused is freely roaming around the area. It was in this context that social activist Soumyajeet Raj moved a fresh complaint seeking follow-up action in the matter.
The stocks were recovered in a joint raid by forest officials as also the steel and mines department on World Environment Day June 5, 2015. Samples of the seized iron ore were sent to the laboratory for examination where a test confirmed the ore was of the highest grades.
Initially, the Jakhpura police refused to register Raj’s complaint. Then he got a court order to have the complaint registered.
The activist says police now refused to provide him with an FIR copy even four days after he filed the complaint. “The police does not have the courage to arrest the accused who is politically influential. They seem to have entered into a deal with him even as he defied a high court order,” some activists alleged.
A team from the Enforcement directorate visited the railway siding to probe the matter. Meanwhile, police and mines officials keep blaming each other for the lack of progress in the matter.
The registration of the complaint in the form of a case was done by the police only after Raj approached the Orissa High Court and the court directed him to move the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) on Jajpur Road. The JMFC hearing his complaint directed the Jakhpura police to register a case over Raj’s FIR. Locals highly appreciated Raj’s efforts to push the case.
