ED grills Odisha's richest MLA in mining scam, he denies it
Bhubaneswar, June 28: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday quizzed Odisha's richest MLA Sanatan Mahakud for his alleged involvement in a mining scam, informed sources said.
The Independent MLA, who is associated with transport company Maa Kuanri, however, denied grilling by the ED officials.
The MLA from Champua in mineral-rich Keonjhar district was grilled for hours over his business transactions with mine owners named in the Shah Commission report on the mining scam, the sources added.
"The ED had sought information from me in connection with my business. I have provided them with every bit of information. I am no offender. I am not involved in any scam," Mahakud told reporters here.
The ED had raided mining companies Sirajuddin and Company, Indrani Patnaik and Company and Triveni Earthmovers and the transport company on July 9, 2015, following its FIR under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of the commission report.
The Shah Commission had probed the multi-crore illegal mining scam in Odisha.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
