In Odisha after 32 years, court acquits DITCO, ex-manager in theft case

BHUBANESWAR: A special court here has acquitted M/s Doaba Industrial and Trading Firm Pvt Ltd (DITCO) and its former senior manager JK Mediretta.

What happened

Meanwhile, the Special CJM, CBI, Binod Behari Sahoo held that the prosecution grossly failed to prove its case against DITCO and Mediretta, the then senior manager of the company's branch office in Paradip.

In practice, the firm represented by Meghna Maji and JK Mediretta are identified not guilty for commission of the offence under section 406 of IPC and are acquitted, the Judge ruled. Mediretta was represented by his lawyer Rajesh Kumar Mishra.

DITCO was engaged as the clearing and forwarding agent by NALCO at Paradip Port between 1991 and 1993. The CBI had lodged an FIR against the firm Mediretta for allegedly misappropriated 46.943 tonne standard aluminium ingots and 5.866 tonne sow ingots valued at around `32.7 lakh.

The bottom line

Taken together, the developments around in Odisha after 32 years, court acquits DITCO, ex point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.