Bengaluru: In a case of theft, illegal transportation and export of iron ore to China through Belekeri port, a special court in Bengaluru has sentenced five accused, including a Chennai-based company, to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a total fine of Rs 89.05 lakh.
The court mentioned in its verdict that the accused have not only cheated the state exchequer but also endangered the environment through their illegal mining activities. 'Contractors, traders, stockyard people, middlemen and agents have become a challenge to the environment for their own gain.
"Not only that, they have also cheated the state exchequer of crores of rupees by carrying out illegal mining without fear of law," the court said while pronouncing the sentence.
The convicted persons include Satak Abdul Khader, Abdul Razik and S Syed Ibnu Maulana, partners of the fifth accused, Messrs. Minkor Resources Private Limited, Chennai, and D Sukhdev Singh, owner of Rajdev Transport, Hospet, Bellary. Similarly, the court has imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 on Messrs. Minkor Resources Private Limited.
The verdict was delivered by the special judge (Prevention of Corruption Act), Bangalore City District, K M Radhakrishna, who said, 'A careful assessment of the overall deliberations shows a criminal conspiracy by the accused 1 to 5, to steal the disputed ore from an unknown source and to give it to the government. The Court held that the ore was illegally transported from the stockyard of the 4th accused at Hulikunte in Sandur taluk to Belekeri port and then exported abroad, i.e. to China, through M/s Falcon Impex Corporation Limited, with the intention of defrauding the Government.
Accordingly, there is no reason to extend the benefit of doubt to the accused. Therefore, this Court upholds the prosecution charges, holding that the guilt of accused Nos. 1 to 5 has been proved beyond all doubt.
The Court held that this has caused an illegal loss of Rs. 58.29 lakhs to the Government and that the accused have violated Sections 120(B), 379, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 4(1A) and 23 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Control) Act, 1957.
What is the case?
Between January 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010, the accused allegedly stole and stored 1,849.77 metric tonnes of iron ore worth Rs 58.08 lakh at the stockyard of the fourth accused.
Accused 1 to 3, acting in the name of their firm, had arranged for the illegal transportation of the ore to Belekeri port, from where it was exported to China on April 15, 2009. The group failed to pay the applicable royalty of Rs 20,347 and tax collected at source of Rs 541, causing a total loss to the exchequer of Rs 58.29 lakh.
The Special Investigation Team of the Karnataka Lokayukta registered the case in 2016 and later filed the chargesheet. Although the accused pleaded innocence and sought leniency, the court refused to entertain the request.
"It is time to take such illegal activities seriously. The need of the hour is to punish the real culprits severely. Therefore, such an approach can serve as a lesson to illegal traders, fraudsters and those who are likely to do such business by taking the law into their own hands," the court stressed.