ED AND EOU REPORTS IGNORED: MINING OFFICIALS AND POLICE COMMITTED A GRAVE SIN TO PROTECT SAND MAFIA

ED AND EOU REPORTS IGNORED: MINING OFFICIALS AND POLICE COMMITTED A GRAVE SIN TO PROTECT SAND MAFIA

14-DEC-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-------------------------The application for the FIR filed by the MDO concealed details of the Rs 131 crore embezzlement; the station house officer registered the FIR under bailable sections, not applying PMLA or serious charges.

IIT Patna's investigation report revealed that Mahadev Enclave Private Limited illegally mined 47,98,396 MT in Banka.

"The weak case was not filed under any pressure; the station house officer applied the sections, all reports were attached to the application," says the MDO.

Deputy CM and Home Minister Samrat Choudhary and Deputy CM and Mining Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha are continuously giving statements to the media that no sand mafia will be spared. How will you take action, sir? Your entire system is standing like a rock with the sand mafia, which is why the mining officer of Banka and the station house officer of Banka ignored the ED and EOU reports and filed a weak case to protect sand mafia Manoj Kumar Pachasia and others, and deliberately concealed the details of the Rs 131 crore embezzlement so that the accused could benefit, and that's exactly what happened.

Mahadev Enclave Private Limited, a company from Rajasthan, had received the contract for sand mining in Banka district. In 2017-2018, eight FIRs were registered against Manoj Kumar Pachasia, Director of Mahadev Enclave Private Limited, for illegal mining, namely 103/18, 104/18, 105/18, 106/18, 107/18, 58/18, 558/17, and 742/17. A fine of Rs 33 crore was imposed on the said company. Since the fine amount was low, the company took the matter to the Lok Adalat on February 11, 2023, and settled 7 cases simultaneously in a single day (excluding case number 742/17).

The ED (Enforcement Directorate) Patna got wind of the fact that Mahadev Enclave Private Limited, accused of illegal mining, had been let off with a low fine. The ED conducted an investigation through IIT Patna, which revealed that Mahadev Enclave Private Limited had illegally mined 47,98,396 MT between 2016 and 2021, and the actual fine should have been Rs. 131,43,20,058.

When the matter became clear and the evidence surfaced, the Joint Director of the ED's regional office in Patna, Satyakam Dutta, wrote a letter to the Managing Director, Secretary-cum-Commissioner, and Director of the Mining Department for action, vide file number ECIR/PTZO/07/2024/2330, dated July 15, 2025, and also informed the DGP Bihar by sending a copy. According to the ED report, the directors of Mahadev Enclave Private Limited, including Manoj Kumar Pachasia, and others, have been directly accused of illegal mining, and it has been clarified that a fresh FIR should be registered under relevant sections 420/387/411/120(B) of the IPC Act, MMDR Act 1957, BMMC Rules 1972, Environment Protection Act 1986, and Section 66(2) of the PMLA.

The EOU sent a 45-page report to the DM Banka for action, explicitly mentioning Section 66(2) of the PMLA, and also informed the Managing Director.

The ED report has revealed that Mahadev Enclave Private Limited has stolen government revenue by illegally mining Rs. 131 crore worth of minerals in Banka district. The Superintendent of Police of the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) directly wrote a letter to the District Magistrate of Banka on August 13, 2025, vide letter number 5470, requesting that further action be taken in light of the information provided under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, and that a copy of the action taken be provided to the Economic Offences Unit. The Economic Offences Unit wrote to the District Magistrate of Banka, attaching a letter of 45 pages. Following the EOU's communication, Banka District Magistrate Navdeep Shukla, vide letter number 1490 dated August 19, 2025, instructed the Mineral Development Officer cum Mining Officer, Banka, to take legal action against Mahadev Enclave Private Limited.

Based on the ED report, the EOU sent a 45-page letter clarifying that an FIR should be filed against sand mafia kingpin Manoj Kumar Pachasia, accused in a Rs. 131 crore scam, under Section 66(2) of the PMLA and Sections 420/387/411/120(B) of the IPC, MMDR Act 1957, BMMC Rules 172, and the Environment Protection Act 1986.  On the instructions of the District Magistrate of Banka, District Mining Inspector Hariom Ojha submitted an application on August 21, 2025, to register an FIR against Manoj Kumar Pachasia, Director of Mahadev Enclave Private Limited, and others. Attached to the FIR application were the DM Banka's letter (1 page), the Economic Offences Unit's letter (2 pages), and the ED's letter (3-80 pages). Please refer to the last paragraph of the complaint (FIR application) filed by the Mining Inspector of Banka. It states that a First Information Report (FIR) should be registered against Manoj Kumar Pachasia, the then director of Mahadev Private Limited, and other directors who held the lease for all sand ghats in Banka district for the period 2015-21, under Rule 40 of the BMMC Rules 1972, Rule 56 of the Bihar Mineral (Grant, Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules 2019, and relevant sections of the BNS/IPC. The application for the FIR submitted by Mining Inspector Hariom Ojha does not mention anywhere the loss of Rs. 131 crore due to illegal mining, nor does it mention any fraud or sand theft/recovery. The Mining Inspector has attempted to protect Manoj Kumar Pachasia, the director of Mahadev Enclave Private Limited, and other directors accused of illegal sand mining worth Rs. 131 crore. These facts were concealed to ensure a weak FIR was filed. Despite this, the mining officer claims he did not file a weak complaint under any pressure.  Then the question arises: why did you not mention the illegal mining worth 131 crore rupees in the application submitted for the FIR?

The Station House Officer (SHO) of Banka played a crucial role in protecting Manoj Kumar Pachasia, the director of Mahadev Enclave Private Limited, the main accused in the illegal sand mining case worth 131 crore rupees. It cannot be believed that he did not review the papers attached to the application before filing the FIR. The application for the FIR included the ED report and the EOU letter. The ED report clearly states that an FIR should be filed against Manoj Kumar Pachasia, the director of Mahadev Enclave Private Limited, the accused in the 131 crore rupees illegal mining case, under Section 66(2) of the PMLA and Sections 420/387/411/120(B) of the IPC, MMDR Act 1957, BMMC Rules 172, and the Environment Protection Act 1986. However, the Banka SHO, to protect the accused Manoj Kumar Pachasia, registered a case under very weak and bailable sections – Section 40 of the BMMC Rules 1972, Section 56 of the Illegal Mining Act 2019, and the amended Section 2024. If the Banka SHO claims there was no collusion, then he must not have read or seen the sections mentioned in the ED report. How could the SHO see them, when he had blindfolds on his eyes to benefit the sand mafia kingpin Manoj Kumar Pachasia? T