A team of a central commission probing allegations of illegal mining in different states Thursday completed its second phase of investigations in Odisha, the team leader said.
The six-member team of the Justice M.B. Shah Commission of enquiry examined files related to nearly half of the state's over 142 mines during their nine-day stay in the state capital.
They also held discussions with senior officials of the concerned departments.
U.V. Singh, the head of the group, said the team is likely to make a third visit to the state soon to verify the files related to other mines. He said the investigation is taking time due to the complexity of the cases.
The M.B. Shah Commission, appointed by the central government in November 2010, has been investigating allegations of illegal mining in several mineral rich states.
An eight-member commission team had earlier visited several mining area of Odisha in December last year. The commission at that time had said it found evidence of illegalities in the state which would not have been possible without the connivance of the bureaucrats.