Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, February 6
With Rajasthan launching a massive drone-supported crackdown on illegal mining, the mining mafia has now started reviving its lost base in Nuh area.
Nuh youths Being trained to drive canters
These miners, who have lost majority of their gang members, have now started recruiting teens in the Nuh, Alwar and Deeg area and are training them to drive canters, operate JCBs and spy
These miners, who have lost majority of their gang members, have now started recruiting teens in Nuh, Alwar and Deeg area and are training them to drive Canters, operate JCBs and spy.
According to sources, boys in the age group of 15 to 18 years are being hired and trained in ‘mukhbari’ (spying) to help miners escape the Haryana authorities, especially the Nuh police and Haryana State Enforcement Bureau team. The boys are being placed around the enforcement bureau office and police stations in Tauru and Ferozpur Jhirka to keep a tab on team movements.
The enforcement bureau posted in Nuh has raised the issue with the authorities concerned and is planning a crackdown.
“Miners are rebuilding a strong spy network and getting young men to do it. The moment there is movement towards the hills during the day or night, the miners are alerted and they run away. We are probing this spy network and will bust it soon,” said a senior official of the enforcement bureau.
The boys are reportedly being sent to crushers in Deeg and Alwar to get trained in not just handling JCBs, but also in driving the Canters. The families of these boys are paid to send them and extra money is paid if they are caught. These boys are being taken to the forest and made aware of all forest paths connecting Haryana to Rajasthan.
“Special vigilance is being done in the hills. We are also keeping a tab on all vulnerable villages especially on Rajasthan borders to ensure there is no illegal mining,” said SP Nuh Narender Bijarnia.
The BJP government in Rajasthan has launched a major drive against illegal mining by conducting surveys through drones, wherever needed, to curb such activities. As part of the drive, the field officers identify the mining mafia and violators and submit the data online, which is used for initiating further action.
State Mines Secretary Anandhi said vigorous checking had also been started in the state’s border areas adjacent to the National Capital Region. The highest number of illegal mining cases has been detected in Bhilwara district followed by Alwar, Deeg and Bharatpur.
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