BJP seeks higher-level probe after mining file goes missing

BHUBANESWAR - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday demanded a higher-level probe into the multi-crore mining scam in Orissa, accusing the state government of destroying evidence as an important file went missing last week.

“We are surprised that the vigilance department did not seize it after it took over the investigation,” senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra told reporters.

“We firmly believe that those involved in the crime are destroying the evidence. We want a higher inquiry, including by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as the police has failed to make any headway,” he added.

The vigilance department was asked in July last year to investigate after opposition parties produced documentary evidence of large-scale illegal mining in mineral-rich Keonjhar district.

The missing of the file from the steel and the mines department in the state secretariat here came to light after a senior government official informed the city police about it in writing last week.