Cuttack: The Odisha High Court yesterday granted conditional bail to the arrested leaseholder of Keonjhar-based Uliburu iron ore mines B K Mohanty who was arrested by the state vigilance sleuths last month.
Justice Chittaranjan Dash of the High Court granted bail to Mohanty that would be executed by furnishing a bail bond of Rs 30,000 and two sureties of like amount.
Mohanty was arrested on July 29 and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days after his bail application was rejected by a special vigilance court.
The mines owner was the original leaseholder of a 35 hectare iron ore mines in Joda and booked for allegedly illegally raising and exporting ore worth about Rs 900 crore up to 2009.
He had subsequently executed a power of attorney of the leased mines in favour of Deepak Steel and Power's Managing Director Deepak Gupta. It was when Gupta was operating the mines that the state government detected the irregularities in June this year.
It is alleged that the miners have excavated huge amount of ore from the nearby reserve forest area after shifting the boundary of the leased mines. The vigilance directorate too has booked Gupta and his relatives in this connection.
While Gupta is still at large after a case was registered against him, his family members have obtained an interim relief from the state High Court which restrained the police from arresting them till September 12.
Meanwhile, vigilance sleuths yesterday questioned the parents and wife of Gupta to ascertain the whereabouts of the fugitive mines owner.
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