UP: Two IAS officers, ten others booked by ED in Saharanpur mining scam

LUCKNOW: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has booked two IAS officers and ten others in Saharanpur mining scam.
Ajai Kumar Singh, 1998-batch IAS officer who has currently been kept on waiting and 2008-batch IAS officer Pawan Kumar who has also been kept on waiting by the government along with ten other private persons have been charged under Prevention of Money Laundering act (PMLA) by the ED.
The same persons were also booked for violation of government orders in the allocation of sand mining leases in the district by the CBI on October 1.
ED officials said that as many as 13 mining leases were granted without following rules from the period of 2012-2015. Ajai Kumar served as DM Saharanpur from March 28 to February 12, 2014, while Pawan Kumar served as a DM Saharanpur from July 20, 2015 to August 6, 2016.
Official’s privy to probe said that on May 31, 2012, the high court cancelled all mining procedures and started process of "e-tendering". Despite this order of the HC, Ajai Kumar Singh, the then DM, Saharanpur in criminal conspiracy with the aforesaid holders of 13 sand mines abused his official position and fraudulently executed order of granting leases in November for a period of three years.
Similarly, on October 8, 2015, then DM of Saharanpur, Pawan Kumar also renewed for three years against the HC order.
Allahabad High Court acting on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on July 28, 2016 had asked for a CBI probe into the illegal mining and plundering of natural resources in the state.