Mumbai: The special court has sentenced Karnataka Congress MLA Satish K Sail, the MD of a Mumbai firm and Belekeri Port conservator to seven years in jail in six separate cases registered in connection with the Belekeri illegal iron ore export case.
The convicted Mumbai firm is M/s Ashapura Minechem Ltd; its MD Chetan Shah was booked by the CBI in one of the cases. The firm and Shah have also been ordered to pay a collective fine of Rs9.06 crore. Besides, Belekeri Port conservator Mahesh Biliye has also been sentenced to seven years in jail.
As per the prosecution’s case, nearly 88 lakh metric tonne (MT) of iron ore was exported by 73 exporters from the ‘seasonal’ Belekeri Port in 2009-10. However, the Department of Mines of Geology (DMG) issued permits to transport only 38 lakh tonne. Records revealed that nearly 50 lakh tonne of iron ore was transported without valid permits.
An NGO, Samaj Parivarthan Samudaya, approached the Supreme Court, which appointed a Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to conduct a probe. The apex court also asked the CBI to take over the investigation. The CBI claimed that on March 15, 2010, Ankola forest officer GN Naik visited the port and found a huge quantity of iron ore stocked on the side, which he seized.
Karnataka: Court Convicts 7, Including MLA Satish Krishna Sail, In Illegal Mining Case
It was claimed that Biliye failed to produce valid permits or passes. Five days later, the officer and his team visited the port again and documented the stocked iron ore quantity at 5 lakh MT. Among the 24 heaps of the metal, one of them (17,546.07 MT) belonged to Ashapura Minechem.
The CBI alleged that one Mallikarjuna Shipping Pvt Ltd had purchased this particular consignment and exported it to China. MLA Sail was also the MD of this shipping firm. The CBI claimed that this caused a loss of Rs9.06 crore to the government.