Bhubaneswar, August 15: Anti-corruption wing of Orissa Police will interrogate director of mines R N Sahoo in connection with smuggling of manganese worth Rs 110 crore from Keonjhar district.
“Our sleuths went to Sahoo’s office yesterday but he was not available as he had gone to Cuttack for some official work but he will probably be interrogated tomorrow,” Anup Kumar Patnaik, director of vigilance, said after submitting action taken report on the investigation into the scam.
“Allowing a private mining firm to guard the two government manganese mines at Ruddukela and Katasahi in Keonjhar without a licence was illegal,” Patnaik said.
The vigilance department had on August 7 submitted a preliminary report on its investigation which confirmed large-scale irregularities in the mining activities in Keonjhar district.
Criminal cases have been registered against nine persons, including seven government staff, for their alleged involvement in the scam.
Manmohan Biswal, deputy director of mines, was arrested for allegedly allowing power of attorney holder Shakti Ranjan Das’s Ram Bahadur Thakur Limited (RBTL) to guard the two mines on Sahoo’s recommendation. Biswal was also suspended from duty.
Opposition BJP and Congress have demanded a CBI probe into the scam.
—Agencies