VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Sept 24: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) intercepted a number of phone calls of Pankaj Mishra during investigation of the illegal mining case which established how he put pressure on the local administration to stop any investigation against him and his associates.
This includes a phone call which Pankaj Mishra had made to then Santhal Pargana Divisional Commissioner Chandra Mohan Kashyap asking him not to make any further inquiry into the cargo ship accident in the river Ganga. Pankaj Mishra pressured the Commissioner to accept the report of the DC of Sahibganj Ram Nivas Yadav who denied any illegality.
The ED has submitted a digital copy of the conversation of Pankaj Mishra with the Commissioner along with the prosecution complaint to the Special court. On March 24, an overloaded cargo ship Ro-Ro vessel carrying stones-chips laden trucks from Sahibganj to Katihar met with an accident. According to the terms of the settlement, vessels are to be plied only during sunrise and sunset. But the vessels are being plied at night. Vessels are to be plied between Samda ghat (Sahebganj) and Manihari Ghat (Bihar). But vessels are being plied between Garam ghat (Sahebganj) and Khutti Ghat (Katihar). Khutti ghat is the illegal ghat where the accident took place.
Pankaj Mishra, the MLA representative of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, made a call to the divisional commissioner on June 2nd from his mobile number 9835933904. The ED has stated that Pankaj Mishra denied that he was involved in the ferry service on the river Ganga which is a main route of the transportation of the legally mined stone chips. But this telephonic conversation is proof of his involvement. The ED in the prosecution complaint has stated that investigation has established that Pankaj Mishra carried and patronized illegal mining and its transportations. When confronted with the transcript, Pankaj Mishra ultimately accepted that he had called the Commissioner.
The ED said that Pankaj Mishra made a call to the then Commissioner and exerted his dominance and misused his power. “In his conversation, he clearly told the Commissioner that he is operating the ferries. He further insisted not to pursue the reports of the DC of Sahibganj which were forwarded to him,” the prosecution complaint reads.
Explaining the context of that phone call, the ED said that one inland vessel was operating illegally beyond hours, at night when it met with an accident. Several trucks were drowned and it also resulted in loss of several lives. An enquiry report was prepared in the matter by the district administration.
“It can be clearly understood that Chandra Mohan Kashyap, the then Commissioner, Dumka had raised certain queries in the report of the DC of Sahibganj relating to the operations of the vehicles, which was in the knowledge of Pankaj Mishra,” the ED said.
ED records statement of Chandra Mohan Kashyap
In his statement given before Chandra Mohan Kashyap who has now retired, attested that Pankaj Mishra had called him one day and told him that he owns the inland vessel and also runs it and indirectly insisted him not to seek any further clarification on the report forwarded by the DC Sahibganj.
Asked why he was not satisfied with DC’s report Chandra Mohan Kashyap said that in the night an inland vessel met with an accident. In this connection, an inquiry report was sought from the Transport Department of Jharkhand hence he sought a report from Sahibganj DC. The report of the DC was not satisfactory. Hence, he further sought clarifications on some points including causes of the accident and the persons responsible for the accident. But Sahibganj district administration did not give any satisfactory report. He could not send it to the Transport Department since he retired; the district did not give him the report.
