Ten arrested for ore theft

Senior port officer allegedly helped top brass employees of various mining companies steal two tonnes of seized iron ore worth nearly Rs 65 crore

Senior port officer allegedly helped top brass employees of various mining companies steal two tonnes of seized iron ore worth nearly Rs 65 crore

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigators had a breakthrough in the case of the theft of two tonnes of missing ore when they arrested 10 persons representing various mining companies.

The accused have been charged with stealing the ore and exporting it from the custody of a senior port officer, who had offered his services for a 'price'.

On March 20, 2010, the assistant conservator of ports, NG Hittalamakki seized five tonnes of illegal iron ore worth around Rs 150 crore, which several companies had been trying to export. He then handed over the seized material to port conservator Mahesh Belia.



The CID took up the investigation and found that port conservator Mahesh Belia had colluded with some companies and helped them steal the ore and export it.

However, Hittalamakki inspected the seized material again on June 2 and found that two tonnes of ore were missing. He filed a complaint with a judicial magistrate on June 8, seeking orders for a detailed enquiry.

Based on a court directive, the CID took up the investigation and found that Belia had colluded with some companies and helped them steal the ore and export it, causing loss to the state exchequer to the tune of several crores.

On Sunday, investigators arrested Shivaprakash, another accused in the Belikeri iron ore theft case. The accused is a supervisor with Metachem Manufacturing, in Vishakhapatnam. He was produced before the JMFC court in Ankola on Monday. The court has remanded him to judicial custody until September 8.

According to the official the accused did not provide any information pertaining to the missing iron ore case and his company's transaction with the Bilekeri port. Last Thursday, the CID team had arrested three persons, S Ravi, Venugopal and Javed Sheikh.

They also arrested Captain MS David, HR Venkatesh of Adani Enterprises, Amar Madhukar Sarnobkar, MD, Doddannavar brothers, Satish Krishna, MD (sales) Mallikarjun Shipping Company, Ramachandra Vasu from Nayaku00a0 Salgaonkar Mining Industries, Mangaldas Kamat, coordinator of PJS Overseas, S Ravi of ILC company, Venugopal, Manager (commercial) Swastik Steels and Javed Sheikh, manager, Lakshmi Venkateshwara Minerals.
DV Guruprasad, DG, CID, said, "The scam has a much-larger magnitude, and we have expedited investigations to reach the root."