Mafias rule roost in Cuttack, make life bid on mining official during ban enforcement

A mining officer, Sambit Sahu enforcing court orders in Cuttack’s Gopalpur area had a close shave after one of the illegal sand transporters allegedly tried to run him over with his Hyva truck.

The ‘goondaraj’ of the sand mafia was evident from this incident. It has been alleged that despite court restrictions on sand mining, the mafias are continuing to lift and transport sand illegally at night.

The mining officials and the police were conducting a check near Gopalpur area in Cuttack last night and they have caught three Hyva trucks for sand transportation without valid documents.

per reports, one of the detained hyva trucks tried to run over the mining official and fled the spot after hitting his vehicle.

Speaking about the incident, Deputy Director of Mines Dilip Sahu said, “The mining officials and police team were enforcing the law last night and had caught three sand-laden Hyvas without valid documents. However, one of the trucks dashed on the vehicle of our mining officer. I am not sure about the intention of the driver. We have lodged a complaint with the police though.”

Asked about the case, Cuttack Additional DCP Anil Mishra said, “The mining officer was checking illegal sand transportation. He had detained three Hyvas in this connection, who were transporting sand without valid documents. A truck driver hit the vehicle of the mining department.”

“We have registered a case in this connection. The truck has been seized. However, the driver is absconding. We will arrest the driver soon,” Mishra said.

The Orissa High Court has put a ban on sand lifting with machines and sand transportation between 7 am and 9 pm. The HC however, has granted conditional permission to sand lifting with machines at places where manual sand mining is not possible.