VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, May 18: The investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into illegal mining has disclosed that the mining mafias have a strong network and illegally mined stone chips are even sent to Bangladesh.
The ED summoned the district mining officers namely Krishan Chandra Kisku (Dumka), Pradeep Kumar Sah (Pakur) and Vibhuti Kumar of Sahibganj for questioning. Except for the mining officer of Sahibganj, the remaining two have joined the probe.
During the questioning, the mining officer of Pakur and Dumka are learnt to have named Pankaj Mishra who often used to detect the local mining issues besides whom to favour for the mining. Mishra happens to be CM Hemant Soren’s representative in Barhait, his assembly constituency.
The ED is said to have asked the concerned district administration to deposit all relevant documents including the mining and transportation challans. The ED has said that not only is money laundered through illegal mining and transportation, the government has suffered a loss of royalty also.
Sources aware of the development said that the mining syndicate constitutes some resourceful persons from West Bengal also. The said syndicate controls entire mining activities in these three districts under Santhal Pargana. The investigation has revealed that stone chips are sent through railway freight even to Bangladesh.
Stone chips are transported against the challan issued for the transportation of boulders. Even some cases have been seen where consignments were freighted by the railway without having any transportation permit. Some of the cases have been brought to the notice of the ED, including the case of one Otan Das & Company Pvt Ltd, Stone India and NSS & Company. These companies having mining stake in Pakur are alleged to have transported stone through railway.
A Pakur-based company is unofficially linked to one of the local powerful politicians. The said company is allegedly used to park and launder money for illegal mining. In Sahibganj there are similar allegations of theft of the government royalty in the mining and transportation of minor minerals.
