BENGALURU: A special court acquitted 12 accused, including former minister Anand Singh and Goa Tourism Minister Rohan S Khaunte, and three firms in an illegal export of iron ore case, as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka Lokayukta “utterly failed to prove the case”.
The acquitted are BP Anand Kumar aka Anand Singh, BS Gopal Singh, BS Pandurang Singh, Naivedya Logistics, its Directors Rajesh Ashok Khaunte, Rohan S Khaunte, and Vijay, Claria Marketing Services, Shaju K Nair, Riya Nair, S Mohammed Muneer and SB Minerals. The accused were booked under various sections of the IPC, Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and for the offence punishable under Karnataka Forest Rules, 1969.
Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, Special Court for Trial of Criminal Cases against sitting and former MPs/MLAs, noted that the prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case. According to the case registered by the SIT in 2015 for offences committed between 2009 and 2010, Pisces Exim Mumbai had entered into an agreement with PEC India to export 14,000 MT of iron from Karwar Port and about 6,000 MT of iron ore from Belekeri Port. It is alleged that Pisces Exim Mumbai received 11,397.44 MT from various dealers without obtaining necessary permits or paying necessary royalties and taxes to the government.
“The last investigation officer NH Ramachandraiah had dumped the documents before the court without looking into the veracity of the several permits. It is unfortunate to note that the investigation was entrusted to SIT of Karnataka Lokayukta with the fond hope that the same will be carried out in accordance with the law. Though the FIR was registered against other persons who had transported the iron ore, the last investigation officer, for the reasons best known to him, had arraigned them as witnesses and filed the charge sheet,” the court stated.
The court observed that the persons who had transported have been left out and only some who had allegedly been involved have been arraigned as accused.