A mob of men and women at the behest of the stone mafiosi attacked and injured three foresters incharge and two forest guards some one kilometre away from the NH 98 last night. All the five injured were admitted to the MMCH Daltonganj.
The stone mafiosi quite tactfully pushed women in the front so as to further disadvantage the forest patrol team which was on a night patrolling in the region infamous for stealing of rocks and boulders for crushing them in the plants to make fast bucks.
The forest patrol team had initially succeeded in detaining two boulders laden tractors but the mob wrested the tractors loaded with boulders free and its drivers and others too walked in freedom.
The five forest officials lost two of their cell phones too. Their injuries are multiple from head to foot. Dr R K Ranjan said the five are out of danger but need adequate medical observation.
The stone mafiosi are most upset following a sustained drive against the illegal mining launched by the DFO Medininagar Satyam Kumar, one probationer IFS officer Navaneeth BR and their team.
Satyam Kumar told this newspaper "Our crackdown against the illegal mining of stone will be intensified more now as such dastardly attack on government servants discharging official duties can't deter us. The offenders will be booked to law."
The stone mafiosi are running a parallel 'sarkar' in the region where there are rocks, boulders, hillocks which they dig up, destroy and devastate to acquire boulders illegally to be used in the stone crushing plants which fetch them handsome cash.
The DFO and his team wants to foil it which means a terrible loss of money to the stone mafiosi which in panic and frustration are using men and women as a human shield in mob attack on the forest patrol team.
Villagers doubling up as human shield is a very common practice of the offenders and criminals here in Palamu.
Sources said the forest officials can't take on stone mafiosi single handed. The illegal operators of stones are organised and have right connections at right place in the corridors of the power.
A co ordinated and concerted joint effort of the forest officials and police officials can help break the chain of illegal stone mining in Palamu.
The forest officials find themselves alienated from the common people as stone mafiosi keep them lured to them by all means.
Around 40 tractors in the region are said to be involved in clandestine ferrying of the illegal stones and boulders from the forests to the crushing plants and that way the tractor owners earn money with which most of them pay their bank loans.
No drive against the illegal stone mining will be any final or lasting if it does not rope in the villagers as stone mafiosi take advantage of the poverty of the poor and use them as a protective shield for themselves said sources.
The forest department has to launch pro active programmes for the people in the jungles to make them feel their participation in saving rocks and trees is a must.
