Moga, October 9
With illegal mining reportedly going on unabated on the Sutlej basin in Moga, the involvement of local police officials can’t be ruled out as SSP Dhruman H Nimbale has recommended to the Home Secretary to suspend Dharamkot DSP Subeg Singh.
Before recommending the DSP’s suspension, the SSP had asked SP(D) Jagatpreet Singh to look into the reports of illegal mining in the sub-division and file a reply on the corrective measures being taken. Though the DSP refuted allegations of his involvement, the inquiry officer was not satisfied. The DSP claimed that he wrote to the mining officer several times regarding the illegal operations, but the latter never responded.
Earlier, before the onset of monsoon, The Tribune in its report “Illegal mining unabated on Sutlej riverbed in Moga” published on April 7 highlighted that the mining mafia had hired local vehicles to transport sand from the riverbed during night to yards in the nearby villages on the pretext of “own use”. However, this sand was reportedly being stored and supplied to consumers from there. The local police during raids found heaps of sand stored in the villages adjoining the Sutlej, but no action was taken.
The police recently booked Rana and Company, Kot-ise-Khan, for allegedly dumping and storing sand on the outskirts of Sherpur Taiba village.
The SSP had maintained that the mining contractors were selling sand without weighing, issuing computerised slips and keeping a record of the vehicles transporting sand. Further, the SP(D) would conduct an investigation into it.
Moga mining officer Gursimran Singh Gill, however, claimed that no illegal activity was going on in the district and the case registered against Rana and Company was off the mark. “Rana and Company has been allotted a mining site on the Sutlej belt, which falls under Jalandhar. Since there is no route available to them on the other side in Jalandhar, the mining department has allowed them to pass their vehicles through Moga. Accordingly, the company dumped sand at Sherpur Taiba village. No illegality is involved in it,” he said.
Talking to The Tribune, DSP Subeg Singh denied the reports of illegal mining. “We are strict and do not allow illegal mining. We have registered many cases and will continue to adopt a zero tolerance to such acts.” — TNS
SSP wants Dharamkot DSP suspended over illegal mining
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