PARADIP: While authorities of Paradip Port Trust are mum on illegal transportation of coking coal in place of steam coal which had led to detention of 18 trucks in the port’s prohibited zone earlier this month, Paradip Model Police on Tuesday registered a case in this connection.
The investigation was initiated after getting direction from Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Kujang. Police has also sent signature of an employee of Trikshakti Shipping Pvt Ltd (TSPL) to the Handwriting Bureau in Bhubaneswar after the company director alleged forgery by another stevedoring agency.
Last week, TSPL company director Kundan Jha filed a complaint against 11 persons in Kujang JMFC accusing them of forging his employee Ramakant Mohapatra’s signature and allowing the trucks to enter the port’s prohibited area to transport coking coal instead of steam coal for which they had permits.
Jha has accused 10 officials of a stevedoring company M/S IN Machinery And Equipment Pvt Ltd including its managing director Chinmaya Chiranjib Bal and one Shaikh Ramjan, managing director of Paradip-based Coastal Transport Pvt Ltd, of harassing his employee Ramakant, illegally procuring a letterhead from TSPL and forging the latter’s signature to allow trucks for illegal transport of coking coal.
JMFC, Kujang then sent the original complainant’s petition to Paradip Model Police Station and directed the IIC to register a case and submit a report to the court by November 18. IIC Rajanikant Mishra said the investigation has started and signatures of the said person were sent to the Handwriting Bureau for verification.
Contacted, a senior officer of PPT refused to comment as the matter is sub-judice and stated that the port administration has already started an internal inquiry to unearth the racket. However, no FIR has yet been lodged in the local police station till now. On October 5, CISF personnel and police had detained 18 trucks in the port’s restricted area and found that 15 of them were laden with coking coal.