Why did CBI summon Akhilesh Yadav in UP illegal mining probe? What's the case?

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday summoned Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav in connection with a 2019 illegal mining case in Uttar Pradesh. Yadav, who was the then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, has been called as a witness in the five-year-old case.

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What is the illegal mining case?

1. The illegal mining case in Uttar Pradesh pertains to the issuance of mining leases in alleged violation of the e-tendering process.
2. It was alleged that public servants allowed the illegal mining of Minor Minerals in UP's Hamirpur district and illegally renewed licenses despite a ban by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on mining during 2012 to 2016. Allegedly, the officers allowed the theft of minerals and extorted money from lease-holders and drivers. A case was registered in 2017 on the order of Allahabad high court.
3. In 2019, the CBI registered a case against 11 persons including UP cadre IAS officer B Chandrakala and the then SP leaders Ramesh Kumar Mishra and Sanjay Dixit in the alleged illegal mining case, days after it searched several areas across UP and Delhi.
4. “As part of the conspiracy, the accused persons allowed excavation of minor minerals with the purpose of theft and to extort money from the lease holders as well as from the drives of the vehicles transporting the minor minerals – like stones, gravel, clay, and sand which are considered government property according to the Mines and Minerals (development and regulation) act of 1957,” the CBI wrote in its FIR.
5. According to the probe agency, Yadav's office during his tenure in 2013, allegedly cleared 13 mining projects in a single day - violating the e-tendering process. Reportedly, the clearance was granted by the district magistrate of Hamirpur, B Chandrakala, after getting approval from the chief minister's office.

(With inputs from agencies)