A senior IPS officer who served in Bellary a couple of years ago is reportedly being investigated by the CBI for allegedly running a benami firm that exported several crores worth of illegally mined iron ore from the Belekeri port. Greentex Mining Industries Ltd in Bengaluru reportedly had close business links with the senior IPS officer who served in Bellary when illegal mining was at its peak in the district.
The Supreme Court constituted Central Empowered Committee (CEC) which had in its September 5 report recommended a CBI inquiry into the affairs of Greentex, had claimed it had exported about 1.65 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore from Belekeri. Sources say CBI sleuths had come across the IPS officer's links to Greentex during their investigation into the operations of the Associated Mining Company (AMC), owned by former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, now behind bars on charges of illegal mining. An ore transporter-cum-exporter from Hospet whose name figures prominently in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining for running a “risk mining” business on behalf of his boss “G J Reddy Sir” reportedly gave details of Greentex's business affairs to the CBI sleuths.
The Hospet “risk miner” whose companies are also under CBI scanner in the Bekeri case, had looked after the routine business of Greentex, sources reveal, adding that besides the IPS officer, a CPI cadre police officer, who served in the mining hub of Sandur, could also come under scrutiny for conniving with the illegal transporters as he is reportedly worth over Rs 200 crores himself. Former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde’s mining report had named more than 700 government officers who had allegedly received bribes from “risk miners” to allow illegal mining| transport of ore.