Congress Leader And Former Goa CM Digambar Kamat Booked In Rs 35,000 Crore Illegal Mining Scam

The Goa Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Thursday (18 January) filed a charge sheet against former Chief Minister of Goa and Congress leader Digambar Kamat in the Rs 35,000 crore illegal mining scam, the Pioneer has reported.

According to the report, the 1572 page charge sheet filed in South Goa Principal District and Sessions Court also names a mine owner and a state mines department official as accused. The former chief minister, along with two other accused, have been booked under sections 49(i) (I-A), 19, read with section 21(1)(2) of the MMDR Act 1957, 120 B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.

A case was filed in September 2014 against Kamat, owner of the mine at Collem Prafulla Hede and Mines and Geology department officer A T D’Souza under section 19 of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act. Hede is known to have close links to Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar.

M B Shah Commission, which investigated the mining scam in the state, accused the former chief minister of allowing mining companies, including the one operated by Hede, to avail of the 'condonation of delay' clause in 2007 to renew their iron ore mining leases allegedly in return for bribes.

Kamat's son Yogiraj and brother-in-law Satish Lawande have already been questioned by the police in connection with the case, some reports say.