Opposition corners govt over missing of mining scam file

The Opposition today cornered the state government over the issue of 'Missing File' related to multi-million crore mining scam in the state.

The Opposition MLAs created a ruckus in the house over the issue. Alleging that the file has been misplaced deliberately by the government officials to shield the accused in the scam, the Opposition demanded a statement on the floor of the house from the state steel mines minister Raghunath Mohanty.

"It is hard to believe that a file which is under the custody of the government officials goes missing. This shows how secure the state government's records are”, said senior BJ P leader K V Singhdeo.

Meanwhile, apart from the police, the state steel & mines department has initiated an administrative probe into the the case.

"We had lodged an FIR in the Capital police station in the missing file case on Sunday. The steel & mines department has also started administrative probe into the matter”, sad Manoj Ahuja, secretary (steel & mines).

D S Jena, undersecretary of the steel mines department had stated in her FIR that the file (3/08) related to the leasing of manganese mines at Rudukela in Keonjar district to S N Dasmohapatra is missing from the office.

Official sources said that S N Dasmohapatra had allegedly caused a loss of Rs 54 crore to the state exchequer by extracting 55000 tonnes of manganese ore outside his lease area.

His company had indulged in mining in the lease area of Rambahadur Thakur Ltd. The state vigilance had already lodged cases against S N Dasmohapatra and the chargesheet in the case in the Balasore vigilance court last week.

The state government had also served showcause notice on S N Das Mohapatra mines recently for its involvement in illegal mining activities. It was also asked to respond to the notice within 60 days.