Page 39 - 31JAN2018E

politics

2012-16. Minor minerals are like sand, course of investigation of the case,” the
gravels etc. Others named in the FIR FIR said. This is a third FIR pertaining to
include Dinesh Kumar Mishra, brother illegal mining cases which were regis-
of SP MLC Ramesh Mishra; Ram Ashrey tered by the agency on January 2, 2019,
Prajapati (then mining clerk), Ambika nearly two-and-a-half year after it was
Tiwari (who is related to Mishra broth- directed by the Allahabad High Court to
ers), Sanjay Dixit’s father Satyadev Dixit, probe the issue.
Ram Avtar Singh (retired mining clerk), The CBI was directed by the High
Karan Singh (lease holder) and Adil Court on July 28, 2016 to probe illegal
Khan, the illegal excavator. Khan was mining in the state following which
allegedly given work on the recom- it had registered seven preliminary
mendation by Gayatri Prajapati, the enquiries out of which two pertain-
mining minister who took charge in ing to Shamli and Kaushambi districts
2013. were converted into FIRs in 2017. Senior
The searches at different in Uttar officials said cases pertaining to Fateh-
Pradesh’s Hamirpur, Jalaun, Lucknow, pur, Deoria, Saharanpur and Siddharth
Noida, besides in Delhi, led to the Nagar districts will be filed soon. The
recovery of cash over 12.5 lakh, prop- agency is probing the illegal mining
erty documents, 1.8 kilogram gold etc. during the period of 2012 and 2016.
The searches of the agency took
Though Congress place on a day the Samajwadi Party and
the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party
supported SP leader gave contours of an electoral alliance
and former CM ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The coming together of the two arch
Akhilesh Yadav when rivals may spell trouble for the ruling
CBI hinted at probing BJP which had a home run in 2014 elec-
tions when it won 71 out of total 80 Lok
his role in illegal Sabha seats in the state.
The FIR also states that it was the
mining, indications Uttar Pradesh government under
are that Rahul Akhilesh Yadav that had introduced
e-tendering process to grant or renew
Gandhi-led party mining leases on May 31, 2012, a move
may have to ratified by the Allahabad High Court in
2013. It is alleged that Chandrakala in
go it alone in UP criminal conspiracy with other officials
illegally granted fresh leases, renewed
existing ones and permitted obstructed
Chandrakala, who is on study leave period to the existing leaseholders in
nowadays, is one of the most talked violation of e-tendering process initi-
about officers on social media because ated by the government. The FIR also
of her purported anti-corruption drive accused her and other suspects of
videos on various platforms. Her social allegedly allowing illegal mining, extor-
media videos lashing out at govern- tion from the leaseholders and drivers
ment officials earned her a title of ‘Lady of the vehicles transporting minerals.
Dabang’. A UP cadre IAS officer of the While there would be allegations
2008-batch, Chandrakala was the dis- and counter allegations, Mayawati has
trict magistrate of Hamirpur during offered full support to Akhilesh Yadav
2012-14 when she allegedly violated e- and the alliance seems to have already
tender system of allotting mining con- been sewed. Similar alliances are on
tracts in her district, the FIR said. the cards in other states with elections
“The role of the then mining min- nearing.
isters concerned during the relevant
period may be looked into during the letters@tehelka.com

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