ROURKELA: A mines mafia Abdul Bari and his manager Sarat Pati were arrested by Rourkela police on Wednesday from Ganua in Koida block of Bonai sub-division.Bari, who was a butcher till 2003, earned fortunes through Doko, meaning illegal mining business in local parlance.A report on modus operandi of Doko and how Bari, a roadside eatery owner Ganesh Prasad Jaiswal and his brother Majesh, a truck helper Anil Barla and some others amassed wealth through theft of natural resources was published in these columns in July.Ganesh was arrested six days back from Rourkela. On a tip off, police raided Ganua area and nabbed Bari and his manager with 25 tonnes illegally raised iron ore. Some others managed to flee. A raid was also carried out at Bari’s iron ore processing plant Prime Minerals at Sargigarh. Rourkela SP Himanshu Lal said the value of ‘visible’ properties of Bari is estimated to be around ` 100 crore, including 100 tippers, vehicles, crusher units, palatial buildings and iron and steel business. However, unofficial sources said total worth of Bari’s properties would run into `500 crore. He was one of the very influential kingpins of the ‘mining syndicate’ active in Koida mining sector and dictated terms in illegal excavation and disposal of iron ore in bulk.The SP said crackdown on the illegal mining business would continue.
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