Ganderbal, Aug 03: Police in Ganderbal on Thursday said they arrested 17 persons and seized their vehicles in the last two months for their involvement in the illegal extraction of minerals in the district.
An official said that on the direction of SSP Ganderbal Nikhil Borkar special police teams were constituted, which were led by SHOs and DOs of police stations and police posts of Ganderbal under the supervision of SDPO Kangan Muzaffar Jan and DySP Hqrs Ganderbal Gh Hassan, to check the menace of illegal mining in the district.
During the course of action, 17 persons were arrested and 15 tippers, one tractor and a dumper were seized in the June and July months, he said, adding that these vehicles were loaded with illegally extracted bajri, sand and boulders from Nallah Sindh Ganderbal.
Police have registered a Case in this regard under FIR numbers 150, 158, 159, 217, 170, 39, 43, 42, 46, 17 & 04 of 2023 IPC at Ganderbal, Kheerbawani, Lar, Safapora and Sonamarg police stations respectively, and the investigations have been taken up, the official said.
He said Ganderbal Police has time to time issued strict warnings to those involved in the illegal practice of mining. “We again request them to refrain from this illegal practice, otherwise strict action under the law will be taken against them,” the official said.
