Notorious mining mafia Sanjay Patra and six of his associates were arrested by officials of the Champua Forest Range in Keonjhar district on Monday.
The arrests were made when a 12-member squad of forest officials under the leadership of Deputy Ranger Pabitra Mohan Naik was on a combing operation in the middle of Tiring and Delanga mountains of the Baitarani Reserve Forest. The mafia members were arrested when they were raising five tonnes of high grade manganese.
The Forest Department registered a case and sent the culprits to the Champua Jail. It is notable that Sanjay Patra, who is a local leader of the ruling BJD and enjoys the support of an influential Minister, had been arrested under the NSA a year back.