E-Paper
Mining scam: Now, ED books Chandrakala, 10 others
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) late Wednesday evening registered an FIR under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against IAS officer B Chandrakala, SP MLC Ramesh Kumar Mishra and nine other accused named in the multi-core sand mining scam in Hamirpur district.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) late Wednesday evening registered an FIR under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against IAS officer B Chandrakala, SP MLC Ramesh Kumar Mishra and nine other accused named in the multi-core sand mining scam in Hamirpur district.
Officials of the economic intelligence and law enforcement agency said mining ministers between 2012 and 2016 (Akhilesh Yadav and Gayatri Prajapati) may also be questioned, if required, in further course of investigation.
The FIR has been registered on the basis of preliminary inquiry on another FIR by Delhi unit of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed on January 2 and related to alleged anomalies in the allotment of sand mining leases between 2012 and 2016, confirmed ED officials.
They said notices have been sent to all accused informing them about the FIR registered against them and asking them to record their statements.
The CBI conducted preliminary enquiry after the order of Allahabad high court on the writ petition of one Nar Narain Mishra and others on July 28, 2016.
“We have been keeping tab on developments since the CBI carried out searches at 14 places across Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, including the residences of woman IAS officer B Chandrakala in Lucknow and Samajwadi Party MLC Ramesh Kumar Mishra in Kanpur and Jalaun, on January 5. The FIR was registered suspecting that huge illegal money transaction have happened in the scam,” said an official.
He said Chandrakala has been summoned at the ED office on January 24 to record her statement and present documents related to mining lease granted and renewed by her.
The SP MLC has been called on January 28.
He said the mining directorate officials have also been asked to share documents related to the lease allotments.
During searches on January 5, the CBI officials had seized several documents related to mining and property, over 4 kg gold and jewellery of over ₹2 core from different places.
The officers also quizzed the MLC and the former zila panchayat chairman Sanjiv Dixit in Hamirpur, who were among the lease holders and allegedly involved in illegal mining of red sand.
Those made accused in the FIR were B Chandrakala, who was posted as district magistrate in Hamipur for over two years between April 13, 2012 and June 6, 2014. She was accused of sanctioning and renewing mining leases flouting e-tendering norms.
Also named in the FIR are Moinuddin, geologist/mining officer, Hamirpur, Ram Avtar Singh, retired senior clerk in mining department and one of the lease holders Adil Khan and Ram Ashrey Prajapati mining clerk.
Khan got the lease allegedly on the reference of then mining minister Gayatri Prajapati.
Remaining five accused were other lease holders, including the SP MLC, his brother Dinesh Kumar Mishra, Ambika Tewari, Sanjay Dixit, his father Satyadev Dixit and Karan Singh.
