An illegal sand mining racket has been busted with the arrest of eight men in Punjab’s Moga district, police said on Sunday.
The men were carrying out illegal sand mining on the Sutlej riverbed at Sherpur Taiba village, said police. Eight vehicles, including five tractor-trailers and tippers loaded with sand and three earthmoving machines, were also recovered.
Dhruman H Nimbale, senior superintendent of police, Moga, said a police team raided the site on a tip-off and caught the accused red-handed.
“Mining activities are prohibited, even at authorised sites, in Punjab due to the monsoon. The accused men were carrying out sand mining at an unauthorised site,” he said.
Police also recovered some receipts from them, which they were using to pass off their activities as legal. “We have forwarded these receipts to the state mining department for verification,” said the SSP.
The accused have been identified as Karnail Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Surjan Singh, Malkit Singh, Jaspreet Singh, Rajanpreet Singh, Sahib Singh and Surinder Singh. They have been booked under Section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code besides under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act.