Post News Network
Joda, June 27: Even as Vigilance achieved a major breakthrough in Ulliburu mining loot Friday with the arrest of former director of Joda mining circle Manas Mohanty, it has allegedly sidelined the probe of Hisaburu mining irregularities, which have a strong links with
the former.
Local people alleged that several facts about illegal mineral transportation worth crore of rupees at Hisaburu rail siding are yet to be dug out by the investigating agency. Local intelligentsia observed that the state government is trying to hush-up the irregularities in Hisaburu.
Notably, main accused of the Ulliburu, Deepka Gupta, had been allegedly carrying out mineral transportation illegally through rail siding after procuring mineral procurement licence in 2009 for his company Deepak Steel and Power Limited. Then, the district mining squad raided the rail siding and premises of his company and seized over 20,000 tonnes of iron ore.
The squad came to know that Gupta, who had obtained power of attorney from Ulliburu mine lease holder B K Mohanty, was illegally excavating minerals from various areas and transporting them through rail siding to different parts of the country.
Thereafter, the mines department had cancelled the procurement license of Gupta in 2009. Surprisingly, the department instead of taking action against him and his company, issued procurement licence to him in 2010. But no investigation was carried out into his shoddy mining activities at Hisaburu.
It was also learnt that during cancellation of mineral procurement, Gupta had also been carrying out his illegal mineral transportation through rail siding regularly. During the period, over 4 lakh tonnes of illegally excavated minerals had been transported.
However, it was alleged that the Vigilance department has not conducted thorough probe into large-scale irregularities in Hisaburu.