Karnataka CID chargesheets Sharad Pawar’s nephew in mining scam

The crime investigation department (CID) of the Karnataka police on Thursday chargesheeted Pune-based Metachem Manufacturing Pvt Ltd (MMPL), which is stated to be owned by Jayant Pawar, nephew of Union minister, Sharad Pawar.

The 10,000-page chargesheet alleges that Metachem had stored its iron ore in the jetty belonging to Adani Mining, at Belikeri port in Dakshina Kannada district. Lok Ayukta sleuths, who raided the port in March 2010, had attached the stockpiles in that jetty.

When the company claimed ownership of the stockpile, the Lok Ayukta had asked the company to produce passes, permits and other documents to claim ownership.

Instead, the company sold the stockpile to a certain DB Group based in Belgaum, the chargesheet claims.

Lok Ayukta officials from Udupi had confiscated 8.05 lakh tonnes of iron ore belonging to MMPL, which sold 7,312 tonnes to Belgaum-based DB Brothers, for which the buyer deposited Rs3.79 crore in the Saraswat Co-operative Society account of MMPL in Sangamwadi, Pune.

According to records available with the Lok Ayukta police, Jayant Pawar was issued notices twice by the Lok Ayukta police, but he had not reacted. In response to notices issued to 53 other companies, they had all assigned an official each and secured anticipatory bail from a court.

Sources in the CID told DNA they have chargesheeted 24 companies in an Ankola court, out of a total of 53 firms that are facing charges of theft of ore and its illegal export.