Contractor among 2 held for theft of bitumen

By CT reporter
MANGALORE : Police recently arrested two persons including a prominent contractor in connection with the theft of bitumen worth Rs 61.66 lakh from MRPL near Suratkal.
The arersted are Balachandra Kamath (46), contractor and Ramakrishna Shenoy, a resident of near Navabharath circle, Kodialbail. Police have also taken into custody another person named Roshan Martis for interrogation.
Investigations have already revealed that as many as six transport companies were involved in the theft racket and that lorries bearing registration numbers KA 05 A 5272, KA 21 1764, KA 02 A1001, KA 19 AC 8235, KA 19 B 2352, KA 19 B 2995 and KA 19, 6096 were used for the illegal transportation. During the period between December 5 and March 31, 2005, about 2100 drums of bitumen were stolen from the bitumen unit of MRPL.The theft came to light when the bitumen unit accounts showed a difference to the tune of Rs 61.66 lakh.
It also came to light that nearly seven lorries had been loaded without proper invoice. While bills toward 200 barrels were made with respect to other transporters, in connection with Kamath, bills were made only for 20 to 30 barrels. This revelation followed an internal interrogation of several officers by the MRPL authorities. Bail plea rejected : In the meantime, the First Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in the city has rejected the bail petition filed by the two accused Kamath and Shenoy. The accused Balachandra Kamath is also the trustee of Carstreet Sri Venkatramana Temple.