BJD leader Raja Chakra faces fresh troubles as EOW raids Koida mines, seizes multiple vehicles

The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch continued its probe into alleged mining irregularities and a transport scam involving Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Raja Chakra by conducting a fresh raid at the Korp Resources iron ore mine located in the Koida mining zone of the Sundargarh district.

EOW seizes vehicles from mines

According to reports, EOW officials, along with local police, arrived at the mines and began conducting raids last evening. In the process, authorities seized more than ten Hyva trucks from inside the mines and continued their search until around 9 pm.

Sources also reported that the EOW suspects that more vehicles, apart from the ten it seized yesterday, are kept hidden under the mines. As such, it is expected to continue its probe and crackdown again today, although no official confirmation has been received concerning this matter.

Earlier, the EOW had retrieved vehicle lists from various weighbridges in the Koida mining area and conducted raids. During these operations, the agency had seized ten vehicles registered under Raja Chakra’s company, Shankar Minerals.

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Why is EOW probing Raja Chakra?

The can of worms opened when a whistleblower tipped authorities into alleged large-scale irregularities in the mining and loading of iron ores, including overcharging for loading and profit sharing among key shareholders, with allegations stating that those enjoying favourable connections with Raja Chakra, received the lion’s share of the illicit gains.

Details of the alleged fraud:

The investigations are part of the probe into a larger fraud, estimated to run into as much as 500 crores. Subsequently, the EOW conducted raids and probes including an extensive 11-hour interrogation of Raja Chakra on March 3.

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Probe intensified on Day 2:

It is worth mentioning that on the second day of the probe, the EOW carried out simultaneous raids at six locations linked to Raja Chakra in Keonjhar, Koida, Dhamra, and Gopalpur on Wednesday and seized 200 ‘benami’ (anonymous) accounts and 20 vehicles reportedly belonging to the BJD leader.