Illegal mining : 8 JCB machines, 8 tippers seized in Nurpur

NURPUR, JULY 24

The Nurpur district police seized eight JCB machines and eight tippers engaged in illegal mining in the Chakki rivulet at Jhikli Khanni near Kandwal last night.

The seized machinery reportedly belongs to some stone crusher units that extract minerals from the Chakki riverbed. The seized tippers being used to transport extracted material were without number plates.

A police team led by Surinder Dhiman, SHO, Nurpur police station, raided the spot following a tip-off and seized the machinery. The police team members in civic travelled in private vehicles and blocked the approach path to the spot where illegal mining was going on so that the violators do not flee with JCB machines and tippers.

Resentment is brewing among residents of villages located along the Chakki rivulet against the unabated mining even during the ban period. Mining is banned during the monsoon season.

Inquiries reveal that stone crushers set up in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh near the Chakki rivulet have played havoc with the water body by indulging in illegal mining.

SP, Nurpur, Ashok Ratan said that an FIR under Sections 379 and 34 of the IPC and Section 21(1) of the Mines and Mineral Act had been registered and investigation started in the case. He said that the police were verifying the names of the owners of the seized machinery.