Assistant Geologists Sudhir Mandrekar and Ramnath Shetgaonkar were quizzed for a couple of hours in the SIT office at Dona Paula while another officer Jayant Sirsat will be questioned on Thursday.
Sources indicated that 16 mines officers will be questioned to probe different aspects of the case, following which Salgaocar, Alemao and officials of Salgaocar Mining Industries Pvt Ltd will be summoned.
Sources said that between 2006 and 2011, Salgaocar, who is director of Kantilal & Company Pvt Ltd, along with raising contractor Joaquim and others illegally extracted iron ore at Asni Dongor, Curdi and Curpem in Sanguem taluka.
According to the FIR, the ore was extracted in a forest area, without a valid lease, forest clearances and mandatory permissions, thus causing loss to the State exchequer.
Meanwhile, to ensure a time-bound and thorough probe into all the 11 mining-related offences which are presently with the special investigation team (SIT) of the Crime Branch, the police brass intends to conduct a review of all cases, starting this week.
Inspector General of Police Sunil Garg, who will personally supervise the assessment of status of the cases, said the review of all the cases will be held this week. “We have to guide investigating officers from time to time. As per the law, we have to complete the probe in a time bound manner,” he said.
Mines Director Prasanna Acharya filed the complaint based on a Forest department monitoring committee report, which revealed that in 2009, ore from the same lease was illegally extracted.
SIT thereafter registered an offence under various sections of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, read with Section 21(1) (2) of the Mines & Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 & Section 2 read with 3A of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
