BENGALURU: A special court in Bengaluru sentenced five accused, including a Chennai-based firm, to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a total fine of Rs 89.05 lakh in a case involving theft, illegal transportation, and export of iron ore to China through Belekeri Port.
The court stated that the accused not only cheated the state exchequer but also posed a threat to the environment through their unlawful mining activities.
“The leaseholders, traders, persons of stockyards, mediators and agents have not only become the challenge to the environment for their lust but also cheated the crores and crores of rupees to the state exchequer by doing the illegal mining without the fear of law,” the court observed while pronouncing the sentence.
The convicted individuals include Sathak Abdul Kadar, Abdul Razick, and S Syed Ibunu Moulana, partners of the fifth accused, M/s Mincore Resources Private Limited, Chennai, and D Sukhadev Singh, owner of Rajdev Transport, Hospet, Ballari. A fine of Rs 25,000 was also imposed on M/s Mincore Resources Pvt Ltd.
K M Radhakrishna, Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act), Bengaluru Urban District, noted: “The meticulous evaluation of the overall discussion demonstrates the criminal conspiracy hatched by accused No.1 to 5, their joint involvement conscientiously in procuring the disputed ore belongs to the government by way of theft from an unknown source, its illegal transportation from the stockyard of the 4th accused at Hulikunte of Sandur Taluk to the Belekeri Port, its subsequent export to the foreign country–China through M/s Falcon Impex Corporation Limited to gain wrongfully with an intention to cheat the government.”
The court concluded that a wrongful loss of Rs 58.29 lakh was caused to the government and that the accused had violated Sections 120(B), 379, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Sections 4(1A) and 23 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
“There exists no reason to extend the benefit of doubt to accused persons. Therefore, this court upholds the prosecution allegations with the conclusion that, the guilt of accused No.1 to 5 have been proved beyond all reasonable doubt,” the judge stated.
Between 1 January 2009 and 31 May 2010, the accused had allegedly stolen and stored 1,849.77 metric tonnes of iron ore worth Rs 58.08 lakh at the stockyard of the fourth accused. Accused No.1 to 3, operating under their firm’s name, arranged the illegal transportation of the ore to Belekeri Port, from where it was exported to China on 15 April 2009.
The group failed to pay the applicable royalty of Rs 20,347 and the Tax Collected at Source amounting to Rs 541, thereby causing a total loss of Rs 58.29 lakh to the exchequer.
The Special Investigation Team of the Karnataka Lokayukta registered the case in 2016 and later filed the charge sheet.
Although the accused pleaded for leniency, claiming innocence, the court declined to entertain the request.
“It is the time to view this type of illegal activities seriously and stringent punishment to the real culprits is the need of the hour. So that, such approach could be a lesson to the illegal traders, cheaters and the persons who are likely to do the business of this nature by taking the law into their hands,” the court remarked.