3 held for illegal mining

Jammu, November 23

The Samba police on Thursday registered an FIR and arrested three persons for illegal mining from Devika river near the AIIMS, Vijaypur. The three accused have been identified as Masoom Ali, Mushtaq Ali and Ashraf Ali, residents of Rakh Barotian in Vijaypur of Samba district. This is the third FIR registered by the Samba police within a fortnight for illegal mining in the Devika river.

On November 9, two FIRs were lodged at the Purmandal police station and two persons had been arrested for illegal mining from Devika near the famous religious-tourism destinations of Purmandal and Utterbehni. The accused’s vehicle was also seized.

The accused were arrested by a police team comprising Vijaypur SHO Sandeep Charak, SI Ankush Sharma and SI Aaber Khan among others.

Samba SSP Benam Tosh said the police were duty-bound to register FIRs to stop illegal mining. “Holy Devika river is famous for containing water of unique properties in the world and has been sacred river for ages together. Therefore, every citizen should maintain its sanctity and should work to conserve it,” he said.