India Today reported that a week after the Supreme Court ordered the CBI to probe the unauthorized exports of 805,991 metric tonnes of impounded iron ore from the Belikeri port in Karnataka, the agency has issued notice to 11 different companies exporters, traders, transporters, miners and is planning to summon representatives of 62 other firms.

The CBI officials did not reveal the names of the companies to which notices have been issued. The court had ordered the CBI to register an FIR against four major exporters Adani Enterprises Ltd, Shree Mallikarjun Shipping Pvt Ltd, Salgaoncar Mining Industries Pvt Ltd and Rajmahal Silks for allegedly exporting illegally mined iron ore, which was impounded by the Lokayukta.

A senior official in the CBI pointed that "We have to cover the gamut of the illegal mining and export. We have to summon several other companies to ascertain the truth. We are not in a position to reveal the names of the companies, as the probe has just commenced.”

When the Lokayukta had raided the Belikeri port in 2009, it found large stocks of unaccounted iron ore lying on the docks. It also found out that transporters, who had ferried the iron ore stock from the mines in Bellary to Belikeri, had used fake government transport permits and NoCs from various departments.

During investigation, it was found that two agencies Venkateshwara Transports and Mahesh Logistics had transported the iron ore stock from Bellary to the Belikeri port. The road permits submitted to the port authorities by the two agencies indicate that the iron ore stock was mined by three mining firms based in Bellary.

A CBI officer added that "Though the validity of the road permits, issued in 2009, had expired, the transporters reused them for innumerable trips.” As usual, it is believed that the transport department officials abetted the transportation of illegally mined iron ore stock. The team has called the two transport agencies for interrogation.

The investigating team enquired the three mining companies to whom the road permits were issued. The officer said that "But all of them claimed that the stock did not belong to them and that the transporters might have misused their expired road permits to transport iron ore mined elsewhere. We will get to the truth now.”

After the Lokayukta handed over the case to the state CID, it sent notices to 73 companies, including iron ore miners, exporters, transporters and shipping companies. However, a majority of them evaded the CID summons. The same list has now been handed over to the CBI for the probe.

Source - India Today

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