Illegal and excess mining in Odisha: ED arrests company director 

The Enforcement Directorate(ED), Bhubaneswar, arrested Anand Kumar Agarwal, a director of Siddharth Sponge and Power Private Limited, in connection with illegal and excess mining. 

As per reports, after his arrest on May 18, he was produced in the Special PMLA court in Bhubaneswar. 

This was informed on Wednesday by the ED on its X handle. 

“ED, Bhubaneswar has arrested a person namely Anand Kumar Agarwal on 18.05.2024, under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 in the case of Basant Kumar Das & Others,  and subsequently produced before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Bhubaneswar,” the post read.

As per information available from the ED, the company had allegedly resorted to illegal and excess mining at Kashibeda in the Mayurbhanj district. There were allegations against the company.

It was also learned that the company had extracted iron ore much more than the permissible limits as per the lease agreement. 

Following the allegations, the Odisha Vigilance registered a case against the company and the matter was investigated.
However, the accused remained mum on the questions from the media while he was being taken out of the ED office.