Raids on Illegal Mines in Orissa and Bengal Continue, 482 Trading Licenses Cancelled
In order to keep the CBI from getting involved in the mining scam probe, the State Government has intensified its investigations in areas of Orissa and Bengal. As many as 482 trading licenses were cancelled on Tuesday, while raids on mines continue to happen, the recent being the eight consecutive raid.
After a mining scam was exposed by the state vigilance, which involved crores of rupees, a vigilance task force to look into the matter more deeply was constituted by the State Steel & Mines Department. The vigilance police then, based on the cues garnered earlier, raided mines across the states and discovered illegal mining, Environment and Forest Act violation, tax and royalty evasion and illegal selling and export of minerals including Iron Ore and Manganese.
"We have already registered four criminal cases and have arrested nine officials, out of which, eight are officials of Mining and Forest Department" said, Vigilance Director Anup Patnaik.