Dholpur police seize three tractor-trolleys of illegal Chambal sand in night raid; one arrested

Jaipur: A special team of the Dholpur police seized three tractor-trolleys loaded with prohibited Chambal sand and arrested one accused after a night raid at Samauna ghat under Rajakhera police station limits, officers said.

The District Special Team (DST), led by Assistant Sub-Inspector Mukesh Kumar and acting jointly with the Rajakhera police station, walked 8 to 10 kilometres through the Chambal ravines on foot before reaching the ghat. To avoid alerting the bajri mafia, the team set out without vehicles from the Mansukh Pura side in Agra district and approached Samauna ghat on foot, police said.

On the spot, the team found three tractor-trolleys loaded with banned Chambal sand. Two were Mahindra and one was a Swaraj tractor-trolley, according to police. All three vehicles were seized and one accused, identified as Sunil, son of Vrindavan, a 38-year-old resident of Samauna in Rajakhera, was arrested. A case has been registered at Rajakhera police station, and proceedings to cancel the registration of the seized tractors and to confiscate them have been initiated. A search is also under way for other persons involved.

Police said the operation was the first major action of its kind in the district after the Supreme Court directed that vehicles and machinery used in prohibited Chambal sand mining and transport can no longer be released merely on payment of a fine.

Superintendent of Police Vikas Sangwan said information had been received about clandestine sand mining and transport at the Samauna Chambal ghat, prompting the joint action by the DST and Rajakhera police. The operation was supervised by Additional Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Sharma. The Chambal area is a notified protected zone where mining and transport of riverbed sand is prohibited.

The SP said strict action against persons involved in illegal sand mining and transport would continue in Dholpur district.