Team News Riveting
Raipur, March 16
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada acquitted erstwhile General Manager of Essar Steel DVCS Varma in a 2011 Maoist payoff case.
Three other charged in the case were also freed by the court.
The then General Manager of Essar Steel’s Kirandul project in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, DVCS Varma, was arrested in September 2011 on a charge of alleged cash payment to Maoists as protection payoff. The project is now owned by the Arcelor Group that acquired it in an insolvency resolution process.
The action on Essar officer came after a contractor from Kirandul B K Lala and one Lingaram Kodopi were nabbed along with Rs 15 lakh cash in connection with the alleged payouts of the protection money to the Left-Wing Extremists. According to the chargesheet, police claimed that Lala was supplying the money to the rebels on behalf of Varma.
A tribal school teacher and activist Soni Sodhi was also arrested from Delhi. Varma was granted bail in January 2012.
The four were booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Regulation.
Right from the onset, Essar Steel had vehemently rejected all allegations made regarding payments to Maoists. It had said that such baseless allegations were being made to hurt the image and reputation of the group, which is a law-abiding corporate. Essar has always put the country’s interest first in all its dealings.
Special judge of NIA court Vinod Kumar Dewangan said in his order that the prosecution had not been able to prove the charges against the accused beyond any objectionable doubt. Hence, acquitting the four due to lack of proof, the order read.
The 76-page judgment said there was no evidence to establish that Essar Steel had paid any money to the contractor.
