Village chief held for carving illegal roads through Aravallis to aid miners

Investigators said one road connected Basai Meo to Chhapra village, and the other to Nangal village — both in Deeg. Each road was around two kilometres long and 41 feet wide, allowing trucks from Rajasthan’s mining and crusher units to bypass the legal route

The Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested a village chief from Nuh for allegedly carving out two illegal roads through the protected Aravalli ranges to provide mining contractors easier entry to the state from Rajasthan, officials said on Friday.

He was apprehended on Wednesday from Firozpur Jhirka and produced before a Nuh court on Thursday, which remanded him in ACB custody for five days for interrogation. (Representational image)

The accused, Mohammad Hanif alias Anna, head of Basai Meo village in Firozpur Jhirka bordering Rajasthan’s Deeg district, had been absconding for four months. A reward of ₹50,000 had been announced for information leading to his arrest. He was apprehended on Wednesday from Firozpur Jhirka and produced before a Nuh court on Thursday, which remanded him in ACB custody for five days for interrogation.

According to the ACB, Hanif is the prime accused in the case involving illegal construction of two roads through forest and Aravalli land, allegedly to benefit mining and crusher contractors in Deeg. During land consolidation proceedings in Basai Meo between 2024 and 2025, Hanif allegedly bribed officials to manipulate government records and legitimise the roads. He is accused of paying ₹5 lakh each to Nuh’s district revenue officer and consolidation officer, and ₹2.5 lakh each to an assistant consolidation officer and a revenue official.

Investigators said one road connected Basai Meo to Chhapra village, and the other to Nangal village — both in Deeg. Each road was around two kilometres long and 41 feet wide, allowing trucks from Rajasthan’s mining and crusher units to bypass the legal route.

A senior ACB officer said the shortcut reduced the travel distance for trucks from 40km to just 5km. “This helped mining contractors increase their trips and profits, while also boosting collections for the Excess Royalty Collection Contractor (ERCC) of the Rajasthan government in Deeg,” the officer said.

Officials said around 160–170 mining belts and crusher units operate in the two Rajasthan villages, two of which were owned by Hanif himself. Technical evaluation during the investigation estimated the cost of construction and labour at nearly ₹1 crore, funded by Hanif and other Deeg-based mining contractors. Illegally mined material was allegedly used to build and level the roads.

The ACB said the role of the ERCC and other mining contractors named in the case would be examined further based on evidence gathered during ongoing investigations.

So far, Nuh district revenue officer Bijender Rana, the consolidation officer, assistant consolidation officer, and a revenue official have been arrested along with three Basai Meo residents — Sher Mohammad, Mohammad Latif and Sakul Khan. Two others, Mohammad Shabir and Mohammad Shaukat, remain absconding, with a ₹50,000 reward announced for information leading to their arrest.

The case first came to light in April this year when the Central Empowered Committee informed the Supreme Court about illegal mining and road construction in the Aravalli forests. Following the report, the Haryana government suspended Hanif and handed the matter to the ACB, which registered a case on June 1 under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, the Environment Protection Act, and the Punjab Land Preservation Act at its Gurugram police station.