By IANS,
Bhubaneswar: Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Saturday stern action would be taken against those involved in a multi-crore mining scam that has come to light.
The vigilance department, which investigated the scam, submitted its report to the government Friday.
“The vigilance report has not come to me yet. But let me assure you that stringent action would be taken against the guilty. Certainly law would take its own course,” Patnaik told the state assembly.
Earlier in the day, Vigilance Department Director Anup Kumar Patnaik told IANS that evidence had been found of illegal mining.
The Vigilance Department was asked to investigate last month after opposition parties alleged that large scale illegal mining was going on in the mineral-rich Keonjhar district.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members produced documentary evidence in the house about illegal mining and reiterated their demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry.
“Only a CBI inquiry can nail all those who are involved in the scam,” said state BJP president Suresh Pujari.