Trinamool MP Srinjoy Bose, his father to be interrogated

The CBI has registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) against unknown persons in the scam related to alleged irregularities in the operations of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) involving shore-handling of cargo at Haldia Port. A company owned by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Srinjoy Bose and his father Swapan Sadhan (Tutu) Bose, a former MP, is reported to be the major beneficiary of the loot. 

After gathering documents relating to the tendering procedures, cargo handling, shore operations, prevailing licensing regime and handling licences granted to agents, the CBI has begun questioning senior officials of the KoPT.

A special team has been formed and domain experts will also be roped in at a later stage to unravel the technical aspects of the alleged scam. “The enquiry will seek to unravel the larger conspiracy and role of the high ups in the Government who could have connived to facilitate illegal cargo operations causing loss to the exchequer,” a top CBI official said.

Role of some senior KoPT officials and promoters of Ripley & Co — Srinjoy Bose and  Swapan Bose — will be probed as part of the PE. loopholes in procedures that allowed this company to exploit the same in its favour will also be looked into, the official said.

After questioning port officials, the agency will question the TMC MP and his father. Once the culpability of the suspects is identified and sufficient material evidence is gathered, the agency will decide on converting the PE into a Regular Case.

Ripley & Co and other such parties allegedly bagged cargo deals by paying a pittance of `5,400 towards annual licence fees, pocketing thousands of crores of rupees over the years at the cost of the exchequer. The company was allowed cargo business in contravention of the Major Port Trust Act and without due approval of its charges from Tariff Authority. 

The company in alleged connivance with the port officials handled cargo operations at the dock from 1977 to 2006 without any licence. A licence was granted to the company by KoPT through a departmental order which is against the statutory provisions.

Critical of the state-of-affairs at the KoPT, a Parliamentary Standing panel said: “The committee fails to understand the motive behind handing over of a profitable entity into private hands. The committee also recalls the recent incidents that happened at the Haldia Dock Complex where the two terminals were abruptly closed by private operator causing irreparable loss to the Government…The committee is aware of the fact that Haldia Port is losing crores of rupees, year after year, just because of some vested interests.

The private parties are paying just an annual licence fee of only `5,400, and they are handling the cargos, shore operations and are taking crore of rupees as profit from the port, thereby, depriving the port authority of its financial benefits.”

A French company working in a joint venture with an Indian firm ABG Haldia Bulk Terminals (HBT) withdrew its operations at the Haldia docks in 2012 alleging KoPT officials’ connivance in diverting cargo to manual berths operated by Ripley & Co. ABG was in 2010 contracted to operate two mechanised berths at Haldia till 2020, but the company alleged that the cargo here was routinely diverted to the manual berths operated by Ripley & Co that almost charged triple the rates of the mechanised berths.