Iron ore transport scam: CBI raids 14 places in state

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Rourkela: CBI sleuths on Thursday simultaneously raided the houses of a Railway official and a mine broker in connection with alleged irregularities in the transport of iron ore.

The raids were conducted at the residence of Railway goods supervisor Bibhudutta Sethi (D-165) in Sector-7 in the Steel Township and mining broker Nandalal Aggarwal (K-15) in Civil Township area.

CBI sources said the raids in the Steel City, conducted by a team from Kolkata with help from the local CBI unit, were part of the nationwide raids on businessmen and railway officials in connection with the alleged scam in ore transport. A total of 14 locations in the state were raided simultaneously by specially formed teams.

CBI officers are believed to have seized incriminating documents during today’s raids. But they were tight-lipped about the seizure.

Apart from Rourkela, raids were also conducted in Rajgangpur near here and Barbil in neighbouring Keonjhar district. Simultaneously, other CBI teams raided several railway sidings, including in Jurudi and Banspani, from where iron ore is loaded for transport. A total of 10 locations were raided in Keonjhar district.

Sources said the size of the scam, perpetrated by unscrupulous businessmen with help from some railway officials, was over Rs. 700 crore.

Last year, a multi-disciplinary investigation had detected a massive fraud in ore transportation by some mining companies, who defrauded Railways by passing off ore actually meant for exports as ore meant for domestic consumption.

Freight charges for export-bound iron ore, it may be noted, are more than five times that fixed for ore meant for domestic consumption.

State BJP president Jual Oram had written to the Railway Minister last year drawing the latter’s attention to the organised racket in defrauding the Railway of its rightful revenue by resorting to this subterfuge in cohorts with Railway officials.

Railway authorities had imposed a fine of Rs. 66 crore on a Kolkata based mining company, which was found during inquiry to have siphoned off huge quantities of iron ore from the mines in Keonjhar district and later exporting them.


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