Mining Department’s Efforts Thwarted as Mafia Hijacks Inspection Operation
Nalagarh – In a brazen display of audacity, the illegal mining mafia in Nalagarh orchestrated a daring abduction of a mining inspector during a crackdown on illicit mining activities. The incident unfolded as the inspector and his team sought to apprehend perpetrators operating JCBs and tippers engaged in illegal mining along the Bodla Khad near Dabhota.
The mining department team, comprising Mineral Inspector Nalagarh Hemraj, Assistant Mineral Inspector Satyadev, Mineral Guard Kailash Thakur, and Constable Harinder Singh, confronted the culprits in a late-night operation last Saturday. Upon intercepting a JCB machine and a tipper in the act of illegal mining, the team swiftly moved to detain the equipment and its operators.
However, the situation took a harrowing turn as the team, en route to the police station with the confiscated vehicles, encountered a group of assailants near Bodla Bridge. In a coordinated ambush, the assailants forcibly removed three members of the mining department and police team from their vehicles and commandeered the tipper and JCB towards Punjab.
Assistant Mineral Inspector Satyadev, who was among those abducted, recounted a harrowing ordeal of being taken captive by the illegal miners, only to be abandoned in a desolate area after a prolonged journey. Determined to seek justice, Satyadev vowed to escalate the matter to SP Baddi, underscoring the gravity of the situation.
DSP Baddi Khajana Ram confirmed the police action following the formal complaint lodged by the mineral inspector. The police have invoked sections 341, 506, 349, 186, and 34 of the law, encompassing charges of obstructing government work and threatening.
This incident not only exposes the brazen impunity with which the illegal mining mafia operates but also underscores the challenges faced by the mining department in curbing such criminal enterprises.
