Nagpur Rural police step up game against sand mafia

Nagpur: After sand mafia's attempt on a revenue official's life last week, local crime branch (LCB) and rural police stations have launched operations against illegal sand mining, especially at night. Now, demand is being raised for proactive action from the revenue dept officials under district administration at taluka level.The police action have intensified after villagers in Parseoni taluka recently confronted the sand mafia over excessive excavation along Kanhan riverbed. Last week, the villagers intercepted two tractors of sand mafia and filed a complaint at Kanhan police station. Villagers claimed unchecked illegal sand mining is destroying the local ecosystem, with sand extraction exceeding far beyond limits in absence of checks, especially at night."Why are geofencing breach alerts meant to flag multiple trips from the sand ghats not triggering stronger actions?" asked a villager on the condition of anonymity. "Enforcement from the revenue department has remained sparse," said another villager. Rural police under SP Harssh A Poddar and Addl SP Anil Mhaske recently invoked MCOCA against key operator Kallu Khan and are moving to seize his properties, including actions in Ranchi. Senior police officers claimed they are leaving nothing to chance. "We have identified vulnerable extraction points like Ramdongri, Juni Kampti under Kanhan police station, Rewatwari, Sirohi and stretches along Saoner-Parseoni roads. Dedicated police teams now patrol these routes round the clock, maintaining high vigilance," said a senior police official. Action has been taken against sand ghat owners found excavating excess sand, with several vehicles being seized. The recent action was taken in Bhiwapur.The sand ghat owners, already facing financial setbacks due to sand mafia, were jolted after Bhiwapur police took action against a few of their vehicles for violations, said sources.