As a Special Investigation Team takes over probe into the alleged payoff to Naxals by Essar,police have seized letters written by an alleged conduit between the company and Maoists,addressed to Essar chairman Ruia Sahab and seeking release of money. Saying they have details of the letters written and calls made by Jai Johar Seva Sansthan chairman Pawan Dubey to Essar officials,as well as mails exchanged between the company executives on the matter,a police officer involved in the probe said: When did you hear a non-descript person writing directly to the chairman of such a big company asking him to release money? The Indian Express has seen the letters and the mails. An Essar spokesperson confirmed release of Rs 1 crore to Jai Johar on January 22 this year,but added: This was disbursed to meet expenses for setting up office and necessary infrastructure. Subsequently,a further Rs 8.6 crore was disbursed. The spokesperson declined to comment on which CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities this hurriedly released money was spent by the Jai Johar Sansthan. A Bastar-based journalist,Dubeys name had first surfaced as government negotiator with Naxals during former CM Ajit Jogis tenure. Earlier this year,soon after it was set up,his Sansthan was chosen by Essar to undertake their CSR activities,amid objections by the administration. Essar is supposed to spend CSR funds on development of the area,instead it is diverting it to Naxals, Dantewada Collector O P Chaudhary told The Indian Express. Dubey admits writing the letters but says he didnt mean to arm-twist the company as claimed by the police. It was on January 17,a day after the Sansthan came up,that Dubey first wrote to Ruia submitting a proposal to undertake the companys CSR activities in the area and seeking Rs 1 crore immediately. Three days later,Malay Mukherjee,CEO of Essar Steel Business Group,sent an email to Essar Steel India CEO Dilip Oommen asking him to release the money immediately to the new NGO as it has become essential to maintain the operation of Kirandul pipeline. (that) such activities be undertaken. On January 21,Dubey wrote another letter to Ruia,reminding him of a meeting in Mumbai and requesting rakam dene ka kasht karen (release the amount). A day later,Rs 1 crore reached Jai Johars account. The Essar Kirandul pipeline that passes through the Naxal heartland from Bailadila to Visakhapatnam and carries blue dust was damaged in a Maoist attack in May 2009. It was repaired a year later by civil contractor B K Lala,who was arrested recently while allegedly handing over Rs 15 lakh as protection money to suspected Naxal Lingaram Kodapi in September. Incidentally,the only other office that the Sansthan has apart from its headquarters in Jagdalpur which has been raided is located right opposite the Palnar home of Soni Sori,arrested on charges of links with Naxals. Soris brother Ramdev claims to have never noticed the office,which opened recently,till The Indian Express asked him about it. I dont know what activities are going on here. However,locals say they have seen Sori visiting. Dubey had gone missing soon after the arrests of Lala,Kodapi and Sori. The Dantewada collector claimed a rift within Essar on the matter of giving CSR money to Jai Johar. Officials approached me requesting that I somehow stop money flow to Dubeys NGO. District officials confirmed that among those who objected to money going to Jai Johar was Essar General Manager,Bailadila mines,D V C S Verma. Two months after his arrest over allegations of Essar paying off money to Naxals,the company has still not sought bail for him. On Monday,a Dantewada court extended the judicial custody of Sori,Kodapi,Lala as well as Verma till December 26.
