In a major crackdown on illegal sand mining, Noida Police on Sunday morning seized 19 sand-laden trucks and two Poclain Hydraulics from Greater Noida. The vehicles were apprehended while they were passing through Noida after extracting sand. This is the third biggest haul of vehicles this year. Earlier in January, police had seized 23 vehicles from Noida and in April, 17 vehicles were confiscated and 19 people booked from the same area.
Acting on a tip-off, officials reached the area of Momnathal and Gadhi villages and apprehended the trucks and extractors. Fearing arrest, the drivers and conductors opened fire on the police squad and fled the scene, leaving heavy machinery behind. Three companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and policemen from three thanas along with half a dozen PCR vans reached the site. Sand trucks and a dozen excavation equipment were found abandoned.
Illegal miners are ‘back’ in business after IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal courted controversy for taking on the brazen sand mafia. It had created a political maelstrom and put the spotlight back on illegal exploration.However, barely a few months later, the mafia was in the tick of things. Such was the audacity of the sand mafia that policemen and farmers opposing illegal extraction were at the receiving end. On May 1, a police team was attacked in Asgarpur village in which half a dozen policemen suffered minor injuries. The very same week, a farmer opposing extraction on his land was shot at.
locals claim the area along with both Yamuna and Hindon rivers are witnessing dredging under the very nose of the district administration and local police. As per reports, digging is taking place on the riverbeds of Noida, Dankaur, Kasna and Jewar regions. “The mining lobby is still busy raking in the moolah and local police allow the movement of trucks and other vehicles, for a consideration. When the water level recedes in the catchment areas of these rivers, the mining mafia comes out in full force in the region,” said Dushyant Nagar, a farmers’ rights activist.
Police officials said they have strictly asked officials to stop illegal mining from the entire region. “Illegal sand mining has been rampant in Gautam Buddh Nagar district along the Yamuna and Hindon riverbanks, allegedly with the complicity of officials and local politicians. We have come down heavily on the mining mafia to prevent illegal extraction. The owners of the abandoned vehicles will be identified soon so that key players are apprehended,” said Brajesh Kumar Singh, Superintendent of Police (Rural) of Greater Noida.A case of illegal mining has been registered against unknown persons at Kasna police station but no arrests has been made so far.