2 IAS officials booked in UP sand mining case

CBI teams on Tuesday carried out raids at 11 locations in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, including the premises of Singh and Kumar, who were district magistrates in Saharanpur in the past.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against two senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers – Ajay Kumar Singh and Pawan Kumar, who are currently serving as secretaries in the Uttar Pradesh government — and 10 others in connection with alleged illegal sand mining activities carried out between 2012 and 2015 in Saharanpur.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against two senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and 10 others in connection with alleged illegal sand mining activities carried out between 2012 and 2015 in Saharanpur.(Arun Sharma/HT PHOTO)

CBI teams on Tuesday carried out raids at 11 locations in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, including the premises of Singh and Kumar, who were district magistrates in Saharanpur in the past. From Singh’s residence, CBI personnel recovered ₹15 lakh in cash and property documents. Singh is currently serving as secretary of Khadi and Village Industries Board, while Kumar is posted as special secretary in the housing and urban planning department in UP.

In addition, 10 individuals from Saharanpur have been named in a first information report (FIR); one of them already passed away.

“It was alleged that during the period 2005-2015, 13 leases relating to sand mining in district Saharanpur (UP) were allotted/granted to accused lease holders. It was further alleged that the leases were renewed in 2012 and 2015 subsequently by the then District Magistrates which were in violation of government orders relating to allotting the lease deeds through e-tendering process. It was also alleged that these public servants in criminal conspiracy with private persons had executed lease deeds in favour of accused lease holders,” said CBI spokesperson Nitin Wakankar.

The alleged irregularities in the mining took place when Samajwadi Party was in power. The agency had in January this year registered a case against 11 people, including UP cadre IAS officer B Chandrakala, Samajwadi Party MLC Ramesh Kumar Mishra and Sanjay Dixit [who fought 2017 state election on a BSP ticket], to probe alleged illegal mining of minor minerals in Hamirpur district.

CBI has been probing illegal mining in Shamli, Hamipur, Saharanpur, Deoria, Fatehpur, Siddharth Nagar and Kaushambi districts since 2017 on the orders of Allahabad high court.

So far, four FIRs have been registered in the connection with alleged illegal sand mining.