Satish Sail along with five others were convicted in connection with six separate criminal cases involving illegal iron or transportation, criminal conspiracy, and fraud that caused ₹200 crore losses to the state.
Published Oct 25, 2024 | 11:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 25, 2024 | 1:22 PM
Congress MLA Satish Sail. (X)
Congress Kawar MLA Satish Sail was arrested on the night of Thursday, 24 October by the CBI after a Special Sessions Court for Elected Representatives in Bengaluru convicted him along with five others in connection with six separate criminal cases involving illegal iron or transportation, criminal conspiracy, and fraud that caused ₹200 crore losses to the state.
Satish Sail is also the managing director of Mallikarjun Shipping Private Limited. The special court also found forest officer Mahesh JB, the primary accused guilty.
Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat ordered the CBI to take all accused into custody until sentencing is announced.
The charges against the first accused, Mahesh JB, and Satish Sail include various offences under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), and 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code.
Additionally, since Mahesh JB is a government official, he was also found guilty under sections 13(2) and 13(1)(c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act in all cases. Furthermore, the first case identified PJC Overseas Limited as guilty.
According to the Bar and Bench, in the second case, Mahesh JB, along with M/S Aashapur Minechem Limited and its owner Chetan Shah, as well as Satish Sail were found guilty.
The third case implicated Mahesh JB, ILC Industries Limited, and Satish Sail. In the fourth case, Mahesh JB, Swastik Steels (Hosur) Private Limited, and its owners KV Nagaraj and KVN Govindaraj, along with Satish Sail, were found guilty.
The fifth case involved Mahesh JB and K Mahesh Kumar, the owner of Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Minerals, along with Satish Sail. In the sixth case, Mahesh J B and Prem Chand Garg, the owner of Lal Mahal Limited, were also found guilty alongside Satish Sail.
In all cases, the charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and theft of iron ore were proven.
While ruling against the companies involved, the court stated that their representatives could not be held accountable and ordered them to appear in court when sentencing was announced.
According to reports, the scam involved theft and export of iron ore seized from Belekeri port in Uttara Kannada district. The iron ore was seized during investigations into illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka between 2006-07 and 2010-11.
The case dates back to a complaint filed at the Ankola Police Station in 2010. The CBI took over the investigation, submitting a charge sheet to the trial court in 2014.
After nearly a decade, the verdict has now been pronounced. Some were accused of directly exporting iron ore abroad, while others allegedly sold it to Satish Sail’s company at reduced prices or exported it directly to various countries, including China.
According to the CBI, the estimated loss to the state from this case amounts to approximately ₹200 crores, as detailed in the charge sheet. Government prosecutors Shivananad Perla and KS Hema represented the CBI in court.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula, with inputs from Mahesh G Goudar)
