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Illegal miners attempt to run over trainee IAS officer at U.P.-Uttarakhand border

Sep 26, 2024 05:30 AM IST

A case has been registered against unidentified accused, and 10 police teams have been tasked with conducting a manhunt.

LUCKNOW: In a daring act, a gang of illegal sand miners allegedly tried to run over a tractor on a trainee IAS officer, posted as joint magistrate in Sadar Tehsil, Moradabad, when the officer, along with his team, attempted to stop illegal mining under Bhojpur police station limits on Tuesday at midnight. The miners even attacked the team with sugarcane pulled from a nearby field before fleeing the scene.

Illegal sand mining on the banks of the river had been a persistent issue in the Thakurdwara region for many years. (Sourced)
Illegal sand mining on the banks of the river had been a persistent issue in the Thakurdwara region for many years. (Sourced)

The police team, which accompanied the administrative officer, later seized two tractor-trolleys and heavy earthmovers from the spot. A search operation has also been launched to arrest the attackers after an FIR was registered against eight unidentified individuals at Bhojpur police station for attacking government servants and obstructing them in the performance of their duty, based on a complaint by lekhpal Sarvesh Kumar.

ASP Moradabad, Rural, Kunwar Akash Singh, said that the incident occurred when joint magistrate Ram Mohan Meena, a 2022 batch IAS officer, conducted a raid with an administrative team, including the tehsildar and the concerned lekhpal, as well as a police team, after receiving information about illegal sand mining on the bank of the Dhela in Bhojpur police station limits of Thakurdwara tehsil on Tuesday night.

Another police official said that the illegal sand miners fled across the border into Uttarakhand territory when additional police forces arrived. Moradabad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Satpal Antil, has constituted 10 police teams to conduct an extensive search for the attackers and ensure strict action against them.

A persistent issue

A senior official said that illegal sand mining on the banks of the river had been a persistent issue in the Thakurdwara region for many years, with frequent clashes between administrative authorities and illegal miners.

He said that it was suspected that some mining mafias, operating from Uttarakhand territory, engage in illegal mining in Uttar Pradesh and easily escape back into the hill state when trouble arises.

“On October 13, 2022, a major controversy erupted when an alleged mining mafia, Zafar Ali, reportedly escaped into Uttarakhand territory from Moradabad while being chased by police during illegal sand mining in the Thakurdwara region. Ali’s escape into Uttarakhand triggered a significant controversy, with Uttarakhand police accusing their UP counterparts of illegally entering the hill state. The situation escalated into a controversial encounter in a Uttarakhand village, during which cross-firing between UP police and the mining mafia resulted in the death of Gurpreet Kaur, the wife of Block Pramukh and local BJP leader Gurtaj Singh Bhullar, while five police personnel were injured,” the official recounted.

He further said that several UP police officers were taken hostage by villagers in Bharatpur near Jaspur town, located in the Uddham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand, and were only freed after the intervention of senior police officials. Since then, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have traded accusations, leading to even filing of cross-FIRs.

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