The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav as a witness in a case to illegal mining in Uttar Pradesh”s Hamirpur district. He is scheduled for questioning in Delhi tomorrow. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister held the mining department from 2012 to June 2013. The notice, issued under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), is in connection with an FIR lodged concerning illegal mining activities in Hamirpur from 2012 to 2016.

The FIR includes charges of criminal conspiracy, theft, extortion, cheating, attempt to commit offenses, and misconduct. The mining sites were unlawfully allocated, disregarding established protocols and regulations. The mining rights were granted in violation of National Green Tribunal (NGT) directives, according to the agency”s findings. It implicates 11 individuals, along with unidentified public servants allegedly complicit in permitting the illegal mining of minor minerals in Hamirpur, leading to financial losses for the state.

The investigation uncovered that government officials unlawfully granted fresh leases, renewed existing ones, and facilitated obstructed periods for current leaseholders without adhering to proper tendering procedures. The FIR alleges that individuals were allowed to illegally excavate minor minerals, engage in theft, and extort money from leaseholders and vehicle drivers transporting such minerals.

The Allahabad High Court, expressing dismay over the lack of action to curb the illegal mining menace, directed a CBI investigation in July 2016. In its directive, the court stressed the need for action against such activities, and added that natural resources should not be exploited without consequence. It tasked the CBI with assessing whether state authorities were complicit in the illegal mining operations. Consequently, the CBI initiated an FIR in January 2019.