Rajasthan registers FIR in hill blast case, Haryana yet to act

In a significant development, the Rajasthan Police have registered an FIR in the illegal mining case involving the recent collapse of an Aravalli hillock due to a blast, identifying members of the mining mafia. The irony of the situation is that despite the hill, which weighed 6,000 metric tonne, belonging to Haryana, the state is yet to take any action.

According to a letter obtained by The Tribune, the mining authorities had promptly reached out to the state Enforcement Bureau on the very day of the collapse, requesting immediate action. However, no FIR has been filed by Haryana as of now.

“The team inspected the ‘gair mumkin pahad’ and found that in Rava village, 6,000 metric tonne of stone had been freshly mined. Prima facie, it appears that the illegal mining has been done by miners and crushers from the Nangal crusher zone in Rajasthan. We request you to investigate and file an FIR against the accused. It is also requested to increase police patrol in the area to stop miners from Rajasthan entering Haryana,” the letter read. Additionally, the letter made a special request for proper demarcation of hills to prevent Haryana from losing its land to Rajasthan. Despite this, the Enforcement Bureau is yet to take action.

Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed, speaking to The Tribune, accused local officials and the state government of being complicit in the illegal mining activities. “Everybody is involved and they are selling off the Aravallis hill by hill. It’s an everyday affair at the state border and the fact that they have not registered the basic FIR even highlights the menace. All tall claims of the BJP government about eradicating illegal mining after the DSP’s death almost three years ago have fallen flat. They are destroying the fragile ecosystem,” said Ahmed.

Meanwhile, after registering the case for the recent blasting of the Nuh hill, Deeg police have launched raids to apprehend the accused. According to the FIR filed by the police, a special team visited the site on the Haryana border and found evidence of fresh mining.

“The investigations revealed that nobody was licensed for mining at that spot. An inquiry conducted in the village revealed a group of people had trespassed and carried out this mining,” the FIR read.

The police have identified Ferozpur Jhirka residents Subhash, Mustafa, Subba and Deeg residents Sharif and Dilsher Khan as the key accused. Sources revealed that it was after the intervention of local MLA of Deeg, Nauksham Chowdhary, that the FIR was registered.