LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Sept 27: Taking a dig at former BJP Chief Minister Raghubar Das and his successor Hemant Soren for the alleged illegal stone mining during their tenure, former minister Saryu Roy has said that the Enforcement Directorate should summon and question them.
Notably, Lagatar24.com on Monday carried a finding of the prosecution complaint of the ED on how powerbroker Prem Prakash and his associate Sanjay Choudhary dispatched stone chips through rail transportation without mining challan during the regime of Raghubar Das.
The ED arrested Prem Prakash and charge-sheeted him. Reacting to this, Saryu Roy tweeted that responsibilities must be fixed upon them.
“Illegal mining took place in the previous government and it has continued in the present government. Prem Prakash enjoyed patronage in the previous and present government as well. It is evident from the report that a huge quantity of illegally mined stone chips was transported without mining challan from 2015 till this date. In both cases, the mining department remained with respective chief ministers. Hence the chief minister as mining minister can’t escape from the responsibility of illegal mining and they must be questioned. Prem Prakash was the collection agent of both,” said Saryu Roy.
Saryu Roy who quit the BJP following differences with Raghubar Das during the 2019 assembly poll alleged Raghubar Das patronized Prem Prakash. He said that Raghubar Das used the private SUV of Punit Bhargav for a long period. Punit Bhargav is the partner of Prem Prakash.
“Such facts can’t be ignored. This is proof of how the head of the state patronized an agent of corruption and people like Prem Prakash with impunity,” he said.
According to the ED, Prem Prakash and his business partner, Sanjay Choudhary carried out illegal transportation on a large scale. The ED in its prosecution complaint related to illegal mining worth over Rs 1000 Crore revealed that Prem Prakash was involved in the illegal mining in collusion with two Kolkata-based businessmen, Sanjay Choudhary and Amit Agrawal besides Pankaj Mishra and others. He laundered and invested proceeds of crime through his companies.
As per the report, CTS Industries Limited (U24117WB2003PLC111345) where Sanjay Choudhary is one of the directors, has long been involved in the transportation of stone chips through the railway without the desired mining challans. Along with the CTS Industries, the ED has named other companies like BSCI, SVYE, ADTG, and a few others which are said to be the subsidiary of the CTS Industries.
The ED has submitted details of the dispatch of stone chips through railways made by CTS Industries and others during FY 2015-16 till 2022-23 from Pirpainti railway station in Bihar which is closely situated to Sahibganj. According to the ED, during this period CTS Industries and others booked 268 railway rakes for the transportation of stone chips out of which 251 rakes were dispatched without mining challan.
CTS Industries linked to Prem Prakash transported stone chips without mining challan
This covers a considerable period of the Raghubar Das government. Raghubar Das remained Jharkhand Chief minister from December 28th 2014 till December 29th 2019. As per the report presented before the court, during FY 2015-16 till 2019-20, CTS Industries and others dispatched stone chips in 233 railway rakes and none had any mining challan. The highest number of rakes were booked in FY 2018-19— a total 117—and none had any mining challan. The ED stated that 2015-16 a total of 16 rakes were booked by CTS Industries and BSCI and stone chips were dispatched without mining challan. Strangely in the next financial year only one rake was booked by CTS Industries and had no mining challan. In FY 2017-18, CTS Industries together with ADTG booked and dispatched 31 rakes. In FY 2019-20 the number of rakes booked in the name of CTS Industries and SVYE was 68. Such illegality caused a loss of Rs 100 crore revenue to the government.
