Pathankot: 11 trucks with mining material impounded

Pathankot, September 4

The police today impounded 11 trucks engaged in carrying mining material from quarries to different parts of the state. This is, by far, the biggest haul the cops have made in recent months.

Mining, even legal, has been banned by the government during monsoon (July 1 to September 30).

An officer said once the police got to know that some influential people were engaged in excavating sand and gravel, it deployed men to monitor their activities. “This time we placed cops in civvies on some strategic routes to follow the unauthorised ones taken by miners. By the end of the day, we rounded up three persons, all of whom are the masterminds of the illegal mining racket,” he said.

SSP Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh said his force had identified at least a dozen routes from where miners took sand and gravel to various places. “For the past week, we had assiduously identified these roads, which were a favourite for transporting material from quarries to pre-planned destinations. Today, we have struck gold by seizing 11 trucks.”

The SSP said illegal quarries at Shahar Channi were the ones that were the most notorious. “Dhar Kalan DSP Rajinder Manhas led a team of 20 cops to the site and arrested Gagandeep Singh, Palwinder Singh and Malkeet Singh. They were trying to flee, but my men overpowered them,” he said.

A case under various sections of the Mining Act has been registered at the Sujanpur police station.